Incident Overview
On August 5, 2012, at 0331 central daylight time, a Bell 407 helicopter, registration N429PH, sustained minor damage when it contacted a tower guy wire while on approach to the helipad at the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) in San Antonio, Texas. The helicopter was conducting an emergency medical services flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135, operated by PHI, Inc. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight was operated on a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan.
Flight Details
The helicopter departed from the College Station Medical Center in College Station, Texas, at 0302. It was on a visual descent to the SAMMC helipad when the left skid contacted a tower guy wire located northeast of the helipad. The contact resulted in a portion of the left skid separating from the helicopter.
Damage and Response
The operator reported that there was no malfunction or system failure of the helicopter before the incident. The pilot declared an emergency and diverted to the San Antonio International Airport (SAT), San Antonio, Texas. The pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, and patient were not injured.