Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Sikorsky S-76C, N276TH: Incident occurred August 25, 2020 at Palm Beach International Airport (KPBI), West Palm Beach, Florida

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; South Florida

Rotorcraft was taxiing after landing and the landing gear collapsed.

Health Care District of Palm Beach County

https://registry.faa.govN276TH

Date: 25-AUG-20
Time: 18:20:00Z
Regis#: N276TH
Aircraft Make: SIKORSKY
Aircraft Model: S76
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: AMBULANCE
Flight Phase: TAXI (TXI)
City: WEST PALM BEACH
State: FLORIDA

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – Palm Beach County will be without one of its two Trauma Hawk air ambulances following an incident involving its landing gear Tuesday at the Aeromedical Hangar at Palm Beach International Airport.

The incident happened shortly before 2:30 p.m. after the helicopter was returned to its parking space at the hangar following a routine maintenance flight, Palm Beach County Health District spokeswoman Robin Kish said.

While at a complete stop with the engines off and the rotors coasting to a stop, the rotorcraft right main landing gear failed, causing the helicopter to tilt, she said.

The pilot applied the brake to stop the rotor system, and both the pilot and the mechanic safely exited the aircraft. The district notified the Federal Aviation Administration of the incident, Kish said.

Kish said damage to the rotorcraft is being assessed and it was not clear how long it will be out of service or how much it will cost to repair. The Health Care District's second Trauma Hawk is performing its normally scheduled operations, she said.

The district's two Sikorsky S76 C+ helicopters that have been in use since 1999. It plans to replace the air ambulances with two new ones by 2022.

In April, the district signed a $22,748,004 contract with Leonardo, an aerospace, defense and security company headquartered in Rome, for the purchase and manufacture of two light-intermediate AgustaWestland AW169 helicopters.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com

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