Augusta 109E accident near Smethport, PA
On October 8, 2005, an Augusta 109E (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Smethport, PA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 8, 2005
- Place
- Smethport, PA
- Aircraft
- Augusta 109E · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.755°N, 78.554°W
- NTSB ID
- 20051023X01707
Official records · NYC06MA005
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC 3 - Factual Report of Group Chairman: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC 3 - Attachment 1 ATC Training Materials: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 7, 2005, at 2342 eastern daylight time, an Agusta 109E, N7YL, operated by CJ Systems Aviation Group Inc., was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain in Smethport, Pennsylvania, while performing an instrument approach to Bradford Regional Airport (BFD), Bradford, Pennsylvania. The certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured. Night instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from Kane Community Hospital (PA91), Kane, Pennsylvania, at 2324. The positioning flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. In an interview, a mission flight nurse stated that he and another nurse were onboard the helicopter during a positioning flight from their base in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania, to Kane Community Hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital, he and the other nurse deplaned to prepare a patient for transport to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while the helicopter departed for Bradford Airport to refuel. Examination of radar and voice communication data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the helicopter departed Kane Hospital helipad and tracked the Copter GPS 246 Departure procedure course. The pilot contacted air traffic control (ATC), at 2324:47, stated that he had departed the hospital, and was "VFR to uh Bradford three thousand two hundred climbing to five." Over the next 4 minutes, the pilot requested the instrument landing system (ILS) runway 32 approach to Bradford Regional Airport, and he and the controller discussed whe
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. Factors in the accident were, night instrument meteorological conditions, pilot workload, and improper air traffic control procedures by the approach controller.
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Browse: Pennsylvania
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
