What happened
On May 29, 2008, at 1410 central daylight time, a Bell UH-1H operated by Servicio Aereo Nacional, registered as SAN-100, crashed into buildings in Panama City, Panama. The flight departed Enrique A. Jimenez Airport (MONX) in Colon, Panama, at 1326, en route to a waterfront hotel landing pad in Panama City. The flight was conducted under visual flight rules in visual meteorological conditions.
Radar data indicated that while approaching the hotel helipad from the south over the Bay of Panama, the helicopter performed a 360-degree turn followed by a 270-degree turn, then headed east toward the shoreline. After crossing the shoreline, the aircraft appeared to head toward Marco A. Gelabert (Albrook) Airport (MPMG) over buildings before disappearing from radar.
The copilot reported that the helicopter experienced power loss from the left engine while approaching the hotel helipad, which prevented a landing at the intended pad. The crew attempted to maintain flight and head toward Marco A. Gelabert Airport, but the aircraft impacted the top of a building during the flight.
The crash resulted in 11 fatal injuries, including the pilot in command, the flight mechanic, three Panamanian passengers, and six Chilean passengers. The copilot sustained 1 serious injury. There were no injuries to individuals on the ground.
The investigation
An examination of the accident scene showed the tailboom rested on the roof of a four-story building, while the cabin and engines were located on the roof of a lower, second building. The cockpit portion of the aircraft continued past the second building and landed in a street.
Post-crash inspections of the wreckage and engines in a hangar revealed that the airframe and flight controls showed no preimpact anomalies that would have prevented normal operations. However, investigators determined the left engine was not operating normally at the time of the accident. The engines were sent to the manufacturer for further analysis.