Bell 412SP accident near Hesperia, CA
On December 11, 2006, a Bell 412SP (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Hesperia, CA. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 11, 2006
- Place
- Hesperia, CA
- Aircraft
- Bell 412SP · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 34.342°N, 117.431°W
- NTSB ID
- 20061220X01815
Official records · LAX07FA056
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
"THIS CASE WAS MODIFIED JULY 29, 2008." HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 10, 2006, about 1755 Pacific standard time, a Bell 412SP helicopter, N410MA, call sign "Mercy Air 2," impacted mountainous terrain near Hesperia, California. LifeNet, Inc., d.b.a. Mercy Air Services, Inc., was operating the helicopter under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The commercial pilot and two medical crew members were killed; the helicopter was destroyed as a result of the post impact fire. The cross-country repositioning flight departed Loma Linda University Medical Center (94CL), Loma Linda, California, at 1742, with a planned destination of Southern California Logistics Airport (VCV), Victorville, California. Visual meteorological conditions predominately prevailed along the route of flight, and a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. Mercy Air 2 had transported an injured patient from Phelan, California, to Loma Linda, and was returning to their assigned base at the time of the accident. Mercy Air 2 had traversed through the Cajon Pass in the area of the accident site five times previously on the date of the accident. The accident flight was the first flight of the day that was conducted during night conditions. After departing the Loma Linda University Medical Center Heliport, the flight proceeded toward the Cajon Pass. The Cajon pass is one of the main avenues of transition between the San Bernardino/Riverside basin and the helicopter's base in Victorville. Satellite tracking data from the operator indicated that the helicopter appeared
Probable cause
The pilot's inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent failure to maintain terrain clearance. Contributing to the accident were the dark night conditions, fog, and mountainous terrain.
From Wikipedia
The 2006 Mercy Air helicopter accident occurred on December 10, 2006, about 17:55 Pacific Standard Time, when a Bell 412SP helicopter, call sign "Mercy Air 2" impacted mountainous terrain near Hesperia, California and the Cajon Pass. The commercial helicopter pilot and two medical crew members were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire.
On July 30, 2008, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its probable-cause report on the accident. According to the NTSB, the probable cause of the crash was "the pilot's inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent failure to maintain terrain clearance." The dark night conditions, fog, and mountainous terrain were ruled to be contributing factors.
Text from Wikipedia, “2006 Mercy Air Bell 412 crash”, CC BY-SA 4.0; shortened to the introduction. Authors.
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Browse: California · Bell 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.
