WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report into the crash of a medical helicopter that killed three people.
The Hospital Wing chopper crashed October 22, 2013 near Somerville, Tennessee.
Pedi-Flite nurse Carrie Barlow, respiratory therapist Denise Adams and pilot Charles Smith were killed.
The crew was headed to Bolivar to pick up a patient.
The NTSB found the Eurocopter AS 350 B3 did not experience a mechanical failure.
Essentially, the report is the NTSB’s best guess of what happened.
According to the report, Smith ‘may have’ received a warning from an on-board system that caused him to try to move to a higher altitude.
The NTSB found there was a 140 foot tall cell tower and a 115 foot tall water tower in the area that could have triggered the Helicopter Terrain Avoidance Warning System.
According to the report, “Considering the low clouds and night conditions that probably existed along the last segment of the flight’s track, it is likely that the pilot initiated a climb and inadvertently entered instrument meteorological conditions, where a loss of helicopter control occurred.”
LeBonheur Children’s Hospital released the following statement:
“This was a tragic loss for our Le Bonheur family and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Hospital Wing, Pedi-Flite and the friends and family members of our heroes who lost their lives that day. Our relationship with Hospital Wing is long-standing and we work with them to make sure that our teams who fly are safe.”
Here is the text from the NTSB report:
*** Note: NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report. ***
The flight was dispatched to pick up a patient at a hospital and transport him to another hospital near the helicopter’s home base. The pilot performed a weather check, and the flight departed with two medical staff on board. Night, visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the departure helipad. Satellite tracking data revealed that the helicopter proceeded in an easterly direction, following a US highway. The helicopter then climbed in right-hand turn until the satellite data ended; the helicopter was about 1,116 feet above ground level (agl). The wreckage was found, burning, in a wooded area, about 3,300 feet south of the US highway. No eyewitnesses to the accident were located.
The helicopter impacted the trees at a steep angle, and the orientation of the main wreckage was indicative of a loss of helicopter control before impact. The wreckage was largely consumed by a postcrash fire. Examination of the airframe, rotor system, and engine did not reveal evidence of a preexisting mechanical malfunction of failure. Rotational signatures on the main rotor and engine indicated that the engine was producing power at the time of the accident. The helicopter was equipped with night vision goggles (NVG) and NVG-capable lighting.
The pilot had been trained on the use of NVG about 12 months before the accident. The helicopter was not equipped for flight under instrument flight rules.A review of the weather conditions revealed that, at an airport within 2 miles of the accident site, few clouds were observed at 800 feet agl, and a broken ceiling existed at 1,200 feet agl.
A review of the helicopter’s ground track revealed two obstacles in the immediate vicinity, an unlit, nonoperational cellular tower, 140- feet tall, and a water tower, about 115-feet tall. The helicopter was equipped with a Helicopter Terrain Avoidance Warning System (HTAWS). Although recorded HTAWS data was not available, research and flight testing revealed that the pilot may have received an in-flight obstacle alert, prompting a climb. Considering the low clouds and night conditions that probably existed along the last segment of the flight’s track, it is likely that the pilot initiated a climb and inadvertently entered instrument meteorological conditions, where a loss of helicopter control occurred.
