Eurocopter Deutschland EC 135 P2 accident near Oxon Hill, MD
On January 11, 2005, an Eurocopter Deutschland EC 135 P2 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Oxon Hill, MD. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- January 11, 2005
- Place
- Oxon Hill, MD
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter Deutschland EC 135 P2 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 38.784°N, 77.019°W
- NTSB ID
- 20050120X00080
Official records · NYC05MA039
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
- Investigation page: status, final report and safety recommendations
Air traffic control records
- ATC 3 - Factual Report of Group Chairman: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC 3 - Attachment 1 FAA Accident Package: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC 3 - Attachment 2 Determination of No Hazard to Air Navigation: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC 3 - Attachment 3 Candler flight 666 radar data: Document (TXT), on ntsb.gov
- ATC 3 - Attachment 4 LifeFlight 2 radar data: Document (TXT), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
The Safety Board's full brief is available at http://ntsb.gov/Publictn/publictn.htm. The Aviation Accident Brief number is NTSB/AAB-07/04. HISTORY OF FLIGHT On January 10, 2005, about 2311 eastern standard time, [1] a Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH EC-135 P2 helicopter, N136LN, operated by LifeNet, Inc., as Life Evac 2, crashed into the Potomac River during low-altitude cruise flight near Oxon Hill, Maryland. The certificated commercial pilot and the flight paramedic were killed, and the flight nurse received serious injuries. The helicopter was destroyed. The positioning flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 and visual flight rules (VFR) with a company flight plan filed. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight originated at the Washington Hospital Center Helipad (DC08), Washington, D.C., about 2304, and was en route to Stafford Regional Airport (RMN), Stafford, Virginia. Global positioning system (GPS) data for the flight [2] showed that the helicopter proceeded toward the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) published helicopter route 1. [3] According to FAA air traffic control (ATC) transcripts, the pilot contacted the local controller at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington, D.C., at 2305:47 and stated, "washington tower life evac two . . . sir we're at uh medstar like to go out to uh r f k route one then to route four south." The local controller responded, "life evac two (unintelligible) bravo airspace altimeter three zero two five." The pilot re
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to identify and arrest the helicopter's descent, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain. Contributing to the accident were the dark night conditions, limited outside visual references, and the lack of an operable radar altimeter in the helicopter.
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Browse: Maryland
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
