Accident Overview
On the evening of July 2, 2009, at approximately 2100 eastern daylight time, a Eurocopter AS 350 B2 helicopter, registration N53963, operated by Omniflight Helicopters Inc., was substantially damaged while landing at Loris Community Hospital Heliport (5SC5) in Loris, South Carolina. The helicopter was on a medical positioning flight under 14 CFR Part 91, with a company flight plan filed. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time.
The flight originated from Conway-Horry County Airport (HYW) in Conway, South Carolina, at 2040. According to the pilot, the purpose was to pick up a patient for transport. The pilot initiated an approach to the helipad from the west, into the wind. As the helicopter neared the helipad, the two clinicians onboard were calling out obstructions such as trees and light poles. When the helicopter was about 5 feet above the helipad, it began to shudder and vibrate. The pilot continued the landing and performed an emergency engine shutdown.
Post-Incident Findings
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector interviewed the pilot and clinicians after the incident. The inspector reported that although all three individuals had visited the heliport before, they had forgotten about several steel poles positioned adjacent to the helipad. The tail rotor struck one of these poles just before landing, causing the helicopter to come to rest on the helipad.
Four steel poles were located along one side of the helipad, on the perimeter line separating the helipad from a road. Two of the poles were approximately 2 feet high and 4 inches in diameter; the other two were about 3 feet high and 6 inches in diameter.
Damage and Weather
Examination of the helicopter by the FAA inspector revealed damage to the tailboom, tailrotor, tailrotor gearbox, tailrotor drive shaft, main rotor, and horizontal stabilizer.
Weather recorded at an airport about 15 miles northeast of the accident site at 2058 included calm wind, clear skies, and visibility of 10 miles.
The pilot had accumulated 2,587 total flight hours in rotorcraft, including 501 hours as pilot-in-command in the Eurocopter AS 350 B2. In the 90, 30, and 1 days prior to the accident, the pilot logged 46, 19, and 2 flight hours, respectively.
Operator and Hospital Actions
According to the operator's Vice President of Clinical Services, all clinicians are trained with pilots in Air Medical Resource Management (AMRAM), which includes instruction on pointing out obstacles and hazards during flight.
Following the accident, the hospital removed the short steel poles adjacent to the helipad.
The FAA inspector stated that the FAA would research crew training, operations specifications, and the history of the poles being erected near the helipad.
The Eastern Region Safety Manager for Omniflight, in the “Recommendation” section of the NTSB Pilot/Operator Report form, stated: “The conclusion of the Pilot involved and the Company Chief Pilot was that the incident could have been averted if the landing to the landing zone had been made further into the landing zone as to prevent the tail rotor from impacting any obstruction in the vicinity of the edge of the landing zone. Initial and immediate action has been to indoctrinate all pilots flying into medium to small sized landing zones / heliports to position aircraft in such a manner to ensure that all components of the aircraft are clear of all hazards on the periphery and or confines/boundaries of marked landing zones/heliports rather than attempting to place the center of the aircraft at the center of the landing zone / heliport. Corporate wide reassessment of hazards at landing zones/heliports within each regions normal operating area is underway and will be added/updated as needed and posted as part of normal preflight briefings / risk assessments.”