Accident Sequence
On November 18, 2015, at 1623 Pacific standard time, an Airbus Helicopters AS350B3E, registration N711BE, departed controlled flight while attempting to land on a dolly at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, California. The private pilot and a pilot-rated passenger were on board; both were fatally injured. The helicopter sustained substantial damage in the crash sequence, which was recorded by multiple airport security cameras and witness video.
The flight was a local personal flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, intended to allow the pilot to gain familiarity with the recently purchased helicopter. It departed from the airport at 1412. About two hours later, the helicopter returned and was cleared to land on runway 24. After landing, it taxied to the ramp and attempted to land on a dolly that had been moved to the west end of the ramp. The first landing attempt resulted in the helicopter contacting the dolly's aft edge, causing oscillations and a brief loss of control. The pilot then landed the helicopter on the ground and reported to the tower that the dolly had not been properly chocked. After the line crew re-secured the dolly with chocks on three wheels, the pilot made three more landing attempts over about four and a half minutes. During the final attempt, the helicopter hovered over the dolly for about 60 seconds before landing short and teetering on the dolly's aft edge. The tail skid struck the ground, and the helicopter pitched forward and rolled right, then climbed out of view. Security camera footage showed the helicopter spin 180 degrees left, pitch up to a 45-degree attitude, and then strike the ground with the tail rotor and vertical stabilizer, which separated. The helicopter hit the ground left side low, bounced, and rotated another 360 degrees before landing hard on its belly. The main rotor blades continued spinning as the engine ran, and the helicopter spun on its belly for about five minutes, sliding approximately 530 feet east along the ramp. The tailboom and horizontal stabilizer then separated, and the helicopter rolled onto its side, shedding the main rotor blades. The engine continued operating for another 30 seconds before being doused by fire crew. There was no fire.
Aircraft and Crew Information
The helicopter was a 2014-model Airbus Helicopters AS350B3E equipped with a Turbomeca Arriel 2D engine. It had dual controls and was fitted with a Genesys Aerosystems HeliSAS stability augmentation system and two-axis autopilot. At the time of the accident, the helicopter had accrued 35.2 total hours since new. The last maintenance inspection occurred 20.6 flight hours earlier on August 15, 2015.
The pilot, seated in the right front seat, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and sea, multiengine land, instrument airplane, and rotorcraft-helicopter, as well as a type rating for the Cessna Citation Jet. He reported a total flight time of 25,000 hours. He had received familiarization training in the accident helicopter but had not flown it without an instructor prior to the accident flight. The pilot-rated passenger, seated in the left front seat, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and rotorcraft-helicopter. He reported about 200 hours of rotorcraft flight time. No personal flight records were located for either occupant.
Wreckage and Dolly Examination
Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The throttle was found in the FLIGHT detent. The dolly, a steel frame structure with a wooden landing deck, showed indentations on the rear side consistent with the helicopter's skid spacing. For the final landing attempts, the dolly's rear right and both front wheels were chocked. The ramp slope at the dolly location was about 3 degrees downward from right to left, within the helicopter's maximum sideways landing slope of 8 degrees.
Flight Data Recorder Analysis
The helicopter was equipped with an Appareo Vision 1000 flight data monitor that recorded video, audio, GPS, and attitude data. The recording covered the entire flight. It showed that earlier in the flight, the pilot had performed practice landing maneuvers in a field and had engaged and disengaged the SAS system multiple times. During the approach to the dolly, the recording indicated the pilot was struggling with glare from the sun, which was low on the horizon (altitude 4.3 degrees, azimuth 243.7 degrees). The pilot's cyclic control inputs became pronounced as the dolly moved in and out of view. The final landing attempt showed the helicopter descending with pronounced rocking motions before the tail skid struck the ground.