Accident Overview
A helicopter operating under a U.S. Coast Guard contract collided with snow-covered terrain after the pilot lost visual references during a turn. The helicopter was not equipped with a radar altimeter.
Flight Details
The airline transport certificated helicopter pilot was flying a radio technician from a remote radio repeater site. After departure, the pilot was in cruise flight approximately 500 feet above ground level. Weather conditions included an overcast ceiling at 700 feet and visibility of 1 to 2 miles. Snow squalls were moving through the area.
Pilot Account
The pilot reported maintaining visual reference to the ground by using terrain features while flying over a flat, snow-covered delta. Just before the accident, the pilot was using a line of shrubs as a visual reference point but could not see any additional visual cues beyond that line. He decided to turn around and initiated a right turn. During the turn, he lost all visual references to the ground. He then looked at the helicopter's attitude indicator and saw a 45-degree right bank and 10-degree nose-low attitude. He leveled the helicopter and applied collective pitch to begin a climb. Shortly after, the helicopter struck the snow.
Impact and Damage
During the collision, the landing gear skids were torn off the fuselage, the main rotor blades separated from the rotor mast, and the tail boom was severed. The helicopter came to rest on its right side.