Agusta A109C accident near West Chicago, IL
On January 29, 2003, an Agusta A109C (helicopter) was involved in an accident near West Chicago, IL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- January 29, 2003
- Place
- West Chicago, IL
- Aircraft
- Agusta A109C · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.872°N, 88.254°W
- NTSB ID
- 20030204X00160
Official records · CHI03FA060
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript of Voice Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On January 28, 2003, at 2053 central standard time (cst), an Agusta A109C helicopter, N109MX, piloted by an airline transport pilot (ATP), was destroyed during an in-flight collision with terrain about two nautical miles (nm) south of DuPage Airport (DPA), West Chicago, Illinois. Night marginal visual flight rules (MVFR) weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The positioning flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot was fatally injured. The flight departed at 2051 and was maneuvering south of the airport at the time of the accident. The helicopter was operated by Air Angels Incorporated, an on-demand air ambulance service. The operator is based at a heliplex located on the southeast perimeter of DPA. According to company personnel, the helicopter was returning from the DPA Flight Center after refueling with 56 gallons of Jet-A fuel. The pilot of N109MX contacted the DuPage Control Tower at 2050:01 (hhmm:ss) and requested to "depart to the east if possible and head out to the south real quick and come back in on two left, and then land at the heliplex." At 2050:05, the tower controller told N109MX to "use caution departure uncontrolled, and ah, you gonna shoot an approach or just come in towards the numbers of two left?" The pilot of N109MX replied "I'm (unintelligible) status check a couple pieces of equipment we got then shoot two left, takeoff and land at the heliplex." The tower controller responded "that's no problem, Angel One you proceed as requested."
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter while maneuvering, resulting in the excessive descent rate and impact with terrain. Factors to the accident included the dark night, low ceiling and reduced visibility at the time of the accident.
More accidents in IL
- Beech 1900C, Nov 19, 1996
- Beech C-45H, Sep 7, 1992
- Hawker Siddeley HS-748-2A, Oct 12, 1983
- Cessna 414A, Apr 7, 2015
- Cessna 172P, Jul 19, 1997
Browse: Illinois · Agusta aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
