Accident Details
On April 12, 2009, at about 1800 Alaska daylight time, an Aerospatiale AS-350 B2 E helicopter, registration N208CH, operated by Coastal Helicopters of Juneau, Alaska, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a snow-covered glacier approximately 32 miles northwest of Haines, Alaska. The flight was a Part 91 positioning mission to pick up skiers. The solo airline transport certificated pilot received serious injuries. The helicopter had departed from Mile 33 of the Haines Highway about 1750 and was en route to the Little Jarvis Glacier to collect skiers at the glacier's base. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company flight plan was active.
Pilot Account
During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on April 16, the general manager of Coastal Helicopters stated that the pilot had been transporting skiers to various locations in the accident area, who would ski down slopes and be retrieved at the bottom. The manager noted that the flight to the Little Jarvis Glacier was not the pilot's first landing at that site that day, but on this approach he came from a slightly different direction and at a shallower angle. The pilot reported that during the approach, he flew into a small, unseen rise on the glacier, struck it hard, bounced about 5 feet into the air, and spun around the vertical axis three times before descending onto the glacier near the initial impact point. The general manager added that the pilot reported no preaccident mechanical problems. The pilot also mentioned that he had just transitioned from bright sunshine into shadow, and due to the all-white surface of the glacier and flat lighting conditions, he could not accurately judge his height above the glacier.
Investigation
A telephone interview on April 20 with the FAA inspector from the Juneau Flight Standards District Office, who had interviewed the pilot on April 17, confirmed the same details. The pilot submitted a written statement to the NTSB dated April 14, consistent with the accounts from both the FAA inspector and the general manager. The pilot reiterated that there were no mechanical issues with the helicopter prior to the accident.