What happened
During a repositioning flight, the pilot encountered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). Before departing, the pilot had checked the weather for a mission to retrieve a patient from another hospital. At the time of departure, the pilot reported a ceiling of 1,100 feet and visibility of 7 miles.
Shortly after takeoff, the weather began to deteriorate. The flight paramedic on board reported that conditions worsened rapidly while en route and made multiple requests for the pilot to abort the flight. In an attempt to reverse direction, the pilot slowed the aircraft and initiated a descent. However, the pilot was unaware of the specific rate of descent and could not arrest the descent before impacting the terrain. The helicopter subsequently experienced a hard landing and came to rest upright on a roadway.
Findings
- The pilot was unaware of the aircraft's descent rate during the maneuver.
- The pilot was unable to slow the descent prior to terrain impact.