Aerospatiale SA365N-1 D accident near District Heights, MD
On September 28, 2008, an Aerospatiale SA365N-1 D (helicopter) was involved in an accident near District Heights, MD. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 28, 2008
- Place
- District Heights, MD
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale SA365N-1 D · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 38.871°N, 76.877°W
- NTSB ID
- 20081001X14522
Official records · MIA08MA203
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
- Investigation page: status, final report and safety recommendations
Air traffic control records
- Operations 2 - Attachment 12 - SYSCOM Recorded Transmissions Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC 3 - Factual Report of Group Chairman: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC 3 - Errata for ATC Group Chairman's Factual Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC 3 - Addendum 1 - FAA MSAW Performance Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC 3 - Potomac TRACON Facility Operations Log: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2009/AAR0907.pdf. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-09/07 On September 27, 2008, about 2358 eastern daylight time, an Aerospatiale (Eurocopter) SA365N1, N92MD, call sign Trooper 2, registered to and operated by the Maryland State Police (MSP) as a public medical evacuation flight, impacted terrain about 3.2 miles north of the runway 19R threshold at Andrews Air Force Base (ADW), Camp Springs, Maryland, during an instrument landing system approach. The commercial pilot, one flight paramedic, one field provider, and one of two automobile accident patients being transported were killed. The other patient being transported survived with serious injuries from the helicopter accident and was taken to a local hospital. The helicopter was substantially damaged when it collided with trees and terrain in Walker Mill Regional Park, District Heights, Maryland. The flight originated from a landing zone at Wade Elementary School, Waldorf, Maryland, about 2337, destined for Prince George's Hospital Center, Cheverly, Maryland. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the departure; however, Trooper 2 encountered instrument meteorological conditions en route to the hospital and diverted to ADW. No flight plan was filed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and none was required. The MSP System Communications Center (SYSCOM) was tracking the flight using global positioning system data transmitted with an experimental Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast communications link.
Probable cause
The pilot's attempt to regain visual conditions by performing a rapid descent and his failure to arrest the descent at the minimum descent altitude during a nonprecision approach. Contributing to the accident were (1) the pilot’s limited recent instrument flight experience, (2) the lack of adherence to effective risk management procedures by the Maryland State Police, (3) the pilot’s inadequate as
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Browse: Maryland · Aerospatiale 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.
