Agusta A109A accident near Redwood Valley, CA
On December 24, 2003, an Agusta A109A (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Redwood Valley, CA. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 24, 2003
- Place
- Redwood Valley, CA
- Aircraft
- Agusta A109A · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 39.288°N, 123.278°W
- NTSB ID
- 20040108X00032
Official records · LAX04FA076
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 23, 2003, about 1932 Pacific standard time, an Agusta A109A, N25RX, collided with mountainous terrain near Redwood Valley, California. Mediplane Inc., doing business as (d.b.a.) REACH (Redwood Empire Air Care Helicopter), was operating the helicopter under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as an emergency medical services (EMS) positioning flight. The airline transport pilot (ATP) and two flight nurses were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by post impact fire. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed for a portion of the flight. According to REACH personnel, the flight departed Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport (STS), Santa Rosa, California, about 1900 to pickup a critically injured patient at a rural hospital in Willits, California, and transport him to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Santa Rosa. REACH personnel noted that, in accordance with the common procedure used when weather prevented flying direct to Willits, the accident pilot elected to file an IFR flight plan from STS to Ukiah Municipal Airport (UKI), Ukiah, California, which is an intermediate airport with an instrument approach, and meet a ground ambulance with the patient at UKI. The accident helicopter landed at UKI about 1922, ending the IFR portion of the flight. After landing at UKI, the helicopter crewmembers were notified by California Department of Forestry (CDF) Howard's Forest dispatch (located between Ukiah and Willits) that the ground ambulance was still 40
Probable cause
The pilot's improper in-flight planning and decision to continue flight under visual flight rules into deteriorating weather conditions, which resulted in an inadvertent in-flight encounter with instrument meteorological conditions and a collision with rising terrain while attempting to reverse course.
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Browse: California · 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.
