History of Flight
On April 6, 2015, about 1300 central daylight time, a Hughes 369D helicopter, registration N555JC, operated by Haverfield Aviation, Inc., was substantially damaged when it struck the Tennessee River adjacent to the Natchez Trace Bridge near Cherokee, Alabama. The commercial pilot sustained fatal injuries. Low ceilings and fog were present. A company flight plan was filed for the positioning flight, which originated at Roscoe Turner Airport (CRX) in Corinth, Mississippi, around 1230, with a destination of Scottsboro Municipal Airport-Word Field (4A6) in Scottsboro, Alabama. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
A witness, a former private pilot, reported hearing the helicopter land in a National Park Service field on the north side of the river, approximately 3,900 feet from the 1-mile-long, north-south Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge. He could not see the bridge due to fog and light mist. The helicopter remained on the ground for about 45 seconds with rotors turning, then took off smoothly, clearing trees by about 30 feet. It headed toward the bridge; after 10 to 15 seconds, the witness lost sight of it in the fog. He heard no anomalies, and the engine sounded healthy. He then heard the helicopter hit the water with no change in sound until impact.
Another witness, who was fishing under the south end of the bridge, observed the accident. Weather was foggy with low visibility and rain. He heard the helicopter for about 10 to 15 minutes before seeing it cross the river, then saw it approaching him, paralleling the west side of the bridge. When first seen through the fog, the helicopter was level with the top of the bridge. It began a gradual descent, and about 10 seconds before water impact, dropped to about 25 feet above the water. It then descended at a 10- to 15-degree angle (described from a partial reenactment as a "gradual flight in") and struck the water near the center of the river, about 50 to 100 feet east of a green buoy (approximately 100 yards west of the bridge). There was no change in sound before impact, with the same whining noise until impact. The witness saw the helicopter's tail kick over the top of the main rotor blades and snap off. The helicopter did not hit the bridge.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 54, held a commercial pilot certificate with a helicopter rating and an instrument-helicopter rating. According to the operator, he had accumulated 6,884 hours of flight time, all in rotorcraft, including 2,079 hours in the make and model, and 52 hours in the previous 30 days. The pilot's most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was obtained on February 1, 2015.
The mechanic reported that he had picked up the pilot at Memphis International Airport the night before and they had dinner together. They also had breakfast the morning of the accident. He noted the pilot's demeanor was great, and that the pilot had mentioned completing a flight physical with low cholesterol; he felt great.
Aircraft Information
The helicopter was powered by a Rolls-Royce 250-C20B engine, driving a rotor head with five metal rotor blades. The airframe had accumulated 9,813 hours of operation, and the engine had accumulated 13,181 hours. No recording devices were onboard. Flight instrumentation was limited to an airspeed indicator, an attitude indicator, an altimeter, and a vertical speed indicator.
Meteorological Information
Weather recorded at Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, about 20 miles to the southeast, at 1318, included calm winds, 1 statute mile visibility, heavy rain, fog, and an overcast cloud layer at 800 feet. Photographs taken from under the southern end of the bridge just before the accident showed medium gray skies, with a darker gray band of trees and terrain partially shrouded in fog in the distance. The water appeared darker gray interspersed with bands of lighter gray. The mechanic noted that the pilot and he had waited at their hotel until bad weather passed; the pilot then launched to pass behind it.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The helicopter was recovered from the river on April 9, 2015. The aft part of the tail boom, including the tail rotor and gear box, was missing from about 33 inches (fuselage station 230) aft of the tail boom mount. Only remnants of one main rotor blade were recovered; the other blades remained missing. The left skid was also missing. Damage began at the helicopter's front, lower left side, and extended upward. No hydraulic crushing (water impact damage) was noted on the bottom of the fuselage.
Control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to the rotor head, vertically through the collective, and laterally and longitudinally through the cyclic. Yaw control via rudder pedals was confirmed from the cockpit to the remnants of the long tail rotor control rod in the severed tail boom. Rotor system drive continuity was confirmed from the engine to the transmission, the transmission to the rotor hub, and from the transmission aft to where the tail rotor drive shaft was severed with the tail boom.
Three of the five rotor blades were fractured just outboard of the doubler at the main rotor root fitting; two blades were fractured through the strap assemblies and blade pitch housings, consistent with full power on the rotor system at water impact. Extensive damage was found on the hub upper shoe near all five pitch change housings, consistent with a medium-to-high collective setting at impact. The longitudinal and lateral trim actuator assemblies were removed; ram positions measured mid-travel. The actuator motors were tested: one initially ran full travel but subsequently failed; the other, with an indent mark, could not run.
Medical and Pathological Information
The pilot's body was recovered on April 14, 2015, about 7 miles downriver from the accident site. An autopsy performed at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Huntsville determined the cause of death as "blunt force injuries and drowning" and the manner as "accident." Toxicological testing at the FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute found pseudoephedrine in a liver sample and urine, and ephedrine in urine. According to the National Institutes of Health, pseudoephedrine is an over-the-counter decongestant, and ephedrine is its metabolic byproduct. Ethanol, butanol, and propanol were found in various samples, consistent with postmortem production due to extended time in the water.