Incident Overview
On May 3, 2011, between 0130 and 0355 eastern daylight time, an Aerospatiale AS350B2 helicopter, registration N916AM, operated by Air Methods Corp., sustained substantial damage while maneuvering at Woodward Field in Camden, South Carolina. The two certificated airline transport pilots on board were not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local training flight, which was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Training Flight Details
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the operator, the helicopter was used for night vision goggle training. Two training flights occurred between 2130 on May 2, 2011, and 0355 on May 3, 2011. The instructor pilot reported that both flights involved similar maneuvers and profiles, including rapid decelerations, standard autorotations, hovering autorotations, autorotations with turns, sloping ground landings, and simulated hydraulic failures.
The instructor pilot stated that the helicopter was inspected prior to the second training flight, which began around 0130, and no discrepancies were noted. He further stated that during both flights, no maneuver felt like a heavy landing or contact between the tail fin stinger and the ground, and no abnormal vibrations were experienced.
Post-Incident Inspection
Following the incident, an FAA inspector and a company mechanic examined the helicopter. They found the tail boom buckled about 42 inches in front of the horizontal stabilizer. Additionally, the tail rotor gearbox input seal was leaking excessively, and the tail fin stinger—referred to by Eurocopter as the lower fin tail guard—exhibited fresh ground contact marks. The mechanic noted that no damage was present during an inspection performed about 1900 on May 2, 2011.
The mechanic also reported that a postaccident landing gear "spread check" was within manufacturer specifications; however, no previous measurements were available for comparison.