HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On March 17, 2009, at 0138 central daylight time, a Bell 206L-1, N595AE, operated by Air Evac Lifeteam, struck a parked company Bell 206L-1, N101AE, with its main rotor blade(s) while maneuvering to a fuel pump located next to a company helipad. The maneuvering helicopter sustained minor damage. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the incident. The 14 CFR Part 91 emergency medical service repositioning flight was operating on a company visual flight rules flight plan. The pilot and two medical crewmembers, who were the only occupants, were uninjured. The flight last departed St. Johns Hospital, Springfield, Illinois, at 0131, en route to the company helipad.
On the night of the accident, the pilot arrived to work “a little bit earlier” and took a flight “right away." The incident flight was the second flight that he was scheduled to fly. The accident pilot picked up a patient and flew about 47 minutes to Springfield, Illinois, to drop the patient off, and then flew 7 minutes to the helicopter pad where the accident occurred, to refuel.
The pilot stated that there were two fuel tanks located at the landing pad, a north tank with a hose on the west side of the tank and a south tank. Aircraft “normally park” next to the north tank and obtain fuel. The other helicopter was parked in the northeast end of the pad where they “normally” parked because that’s where transient aircraft fuel from. While the pilot was landing the helicopter, an on-duty pilot on the ground made a radio transmission to tell the pilot that he had to use the south tank because the north tank was empty. According to the on duty pilot on the ground, the pilot had to get closer to the tank for the hose to reach. As the helicopter came into a hover, the accident pilot heard a “pop, pop, pop," which was the sound of the rotor blades striking the parked helicopter. The pilot thought the popping sound was from the skids contacting the pad because he was low. The pilot said that he did not experience any loss of controllability and “could have flown away” if he wanted.
When the pilot was asked if the length of the hose was such that he could have landed further away and unroll the hose, he responded that “in his mind, he was going to get close enough to the fuel.” He stated that he would have to pull the hose out and that it was “1:38 in the morning and second flight.” He didn’t think he was that close to the other helicopter. He reportedly followed the aircraft checklist and didn’t skip any of its procedures.
The pilot stated that it was a “good” night to fly with not much moon light. It was dark with good visibility and there were a lot of lights in the area. There was a hangar east of the pad estimated to be 400 feet away with a light on it that illuminated some of the pad and 2 foot tall amber colored lights on and around the pad. The amber lights are located around four corners of the pad and one on each of the center edges. The on duty pilot stated that he was going outside with a radio to “ground guide” the helicopter for its landing, but he had to go back inside because his radio battery died, at which time the helicopter collided with the parked helicopter. He said he tries to “ground guide” incoming helicopters by either using a radio or hand signals so that arriving pilots do not hit other helicopters while landing for purposes of safety and courtesy. He also said that the reason that he ground guides helicopters is not due to company policies/procedures but a continuance of military practices where a crew member or somebody that was close to the landing site would perform ground guiding. He believed that company personnel at the company’s West Plaines, Missouri, base and maybe some other bases, provide ground guiding.
Both helicopters sustained tip damage to their main rotor blades.
Both fuel tank fuel hoses were of equal length and could reach the opposite side of the helipad.