Overview
On September 19, 2024, about 2003 eastern daylight time, an Agustawestland Philadelphia Co. AW119MKII helicopter, registration N281MC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Canandaigua, New York. The commercial pilot was not injured; two medical crewmembers sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 air medical flight.
Accident Sequence
According to the pilot, he transported a patient to a local hospital and was returning to Canandaigua Airport (IUA) at night using night vision goggles (NVGs). The flight was uneventful until reaching the airport. On approach to the base ramp, obstacles were called out, and the pilot continued the approach to a grass landing zone adjacent to the ramp. When the helicopter was about 100 ft above ground level (agl), the landing light illuminated. At about 10 ft agl, the helicopter lunged rapidly forward and downward, rolling slightly left. The left skid impacted the ground, followed by the right skid, and the helicopter rapidly rotated left. There was a tail-down rocking movement; the pilot rolled the throttle back to idle, and the helicopter came to a stop. The engine continued to operate, and the pilot shut it down with assistance from a medical crewmember.
The medical crewmember in the left cockpit seat reported approaching the landing zone (LZ) at about 100 ft agl. He felt the speed was excessive for the approach. He saw the pilot appear to adjust his NVGs with his right hand and grab the collective with his left hand. The crewmember looked outside and realized they were rapidly approaching the ground. Before he could call to abort, the helicopter struck the ground tail first, then the nose, and shook violently. The pilot had difficulty securing the engine, and the crewmember provided assistance.
The helicopter came to rest upright in the grass about 210 ft west of the planned LZ. The operator described the LZ as a mowed grass landing pad with orange cones. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, main rotor, tail boom, and tail rotor.
Flight Data
Flight and systems data were recorded by the Genesys Aerosystems avionics suite. Preflight, engine start, takeoff, and cruise were uneventful, with no crew alerting system (CAS) messages except normal start-up messages. During cruise, the helicopter was between 1,700 and 1,950 ft mean sea level (msl) at 130–138 knots indicated airspeed (IAS). At 1959:40, the pilot reduced torque demand, descending to about 1,300 ft and 110 kts, 1.87 nautical miles from the LZ.
At 2003:28, the pilot maintained a steady descent with vertical speed -50 to -260 ft/min, decelerating to 35 kts IAS. The landing light illuminated at 2003:33. At 2003:43, the pilot commanded a pitch increase from 5° to 12°, while torque demand reduced from 40% to 35% at 2003:36. The rate of descent increased rapidly from 140 to over 500 ft/min when the helicopter was about 10 ft agl. No CAS messages were recorded.
At 2003:45, a sudden pitch change from 12° up to 25° down occurred in about 1 second, consistent with ground impact, with vertical speed exceeding 600 ft/min. In the prior 4 seconds, the pilot increased torque from 37% to 63%. Over the next 3 seconds, the helicopter underwent three full pitch excursions while yawing 220° right. After rest, the engine continued at 72% fan speed (N1) and 500°C inter-turbine temperature until data stopped at 2004:18.
Postaccident Examination
Examination revealed fuselage deformation near the left skid attachment. The tail boom remained attached, but the left outboard horizontal stabilizer was damaged. The upper fin was damaged; the lower fin and tail skid separated. The skid landing gear partially separated with overload signatures. The tail gear box casing was broken in half; the tail rotor assembly detached. Tail rotor blades showed rotational damage; pitch links were intact, the spider assembly undamaged, and duplex bearing retained. The tail rotor drive shaft sheared from static overload. Pedal control continuity was verified.
Main rotor servos: the forward (blue) servo was undamaged; the right (yellow) and left (red) servo mount supports were broken, consistent with shear/tensile overload. Scissors were normal; three of four main rotor dampers disconnected due to overload; the white damper remained connected.
The collective grip examination showed the engine governor switch on Mec, throttle selector on Man, and throttle between Idle and Flt. Throttle movement was free from Max to Idle, but it bounced back from Stop. Collective moved freely. Teleflex cable continuity was verified. Cyclic grip moved freely laterally and longitudinally.
Hydraulic reservoir No. 1 was empty; No. 2 had a low level. Red fluid was found on the cabin ceiling near a crack, consistent with post-accident damage. No evidence of preexisting malfunction or failure was found; all damage was consistent with ground impact.
Additional Information
According to the operator, the pilot had 31.4 hours of NVG time, with no prior NVG experience before employment. He first qualified on NVGs on May 3, 2024, with currency flights on August 23 and 25, and September 16, 2024.
On the accident day, sunset occurred at 1911, dusk at 1939. At the accident time, the sun was 10.38° below the horizon. Moonrise was at 1958, with the moon 0.34° above the horizon and 94.6% illumination (waning gibbous phase).