What happened
On March 17, 2009, at 01:38 CDT, a Bell 206L-1 helicopter, registration N595AE, operated by Air Evac Lifeteam, struck a parked Bell 206L-1 (registration N101AE) with its main rotor blades. The incident occurred while the crew was maneuvering toward a fuel pump located near a company helipad in Springfield, Illinois.
The flight was an emergency medical service repositioning flight under night visual meteorological conditions. The pilot had recently completed a flight from St. Johns Hospital to drop off a patient and was returning to the helipad to refuel.
During the approach, the pilot was informed via radio by an on-duty pilot on the ground that the north fuel tank was empty and that the aircraft needed to use the south tank. To avoid the need to extend the full length of the fuel hose, the pilot attempted to position the helicopter closer to the south tank. As the aircraft entered a hover, the main rotor blades struck the rotor blades of the parked helicopter. The pilot reported hearing a series of popping sounds, which he initially mistook for the skids contacting the landing pad.
All three occupants on board N595AE—the pilot and two medical crewmembers—were not injured. Both aircraft sustained tip damage to their main rotor blades.
The investigation
The investigation revealed that the pilot attempted to get close enough to the south tank to reach the fuel hose without having to unroll the entire length of the hose. The investigation also noted that the on-duty pilot on the ground intended to provide ground guidance for the landing; however, he was unable to do so because his radio battery had died.