Eurocopter EC135 accident near Cave Creek, AZ
On February 14, 2010, an Eurocopter EC135 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Cave Creek, AZ. 5 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- February 14, 2010
- Place
- Cave Creek, AZ
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter EC135 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 5 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 33.848°N, 111.925°W
- NTSB ID
- 20100214X92140
Official records · WPR10FA133
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 14, 2010, about 1505 mountain standard time, a Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH EC135 T1 twin-engine turbine-powered helicopter, N127TS, lost control and impacted terrain near Cave Creek, Arizona. The pilot and four passengers were fatally injured. The helicopter was substantially damaged. The helicopter was registered to Services Group of America Inc. (SGA), of Scottsdale, Arizona, and was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed the Whispering Pines Ranch, Parks, Arizona, about 1430 and was destined for Scottsdale Airport (SDL), Scottsdale, Arizona. SGA personnel reported during postaccident interviews that the helicopter made frequent trips between SDL and the Whispering Pines Ranch and that the helicopter had arrived at the ranch on February 12, 2010. In a statement submitted to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), the ranch foreman indicated that he had spoken to the helicopter owner while the helicopter was en route to the ranch on February 12. He was not present when the helicopter arrived and did not know who was on the helicopter when it arrived other than the pilot and owner, but he recalled helping the pilot put the helicopter in the hangar after its arrival. In a postaccident interview with the IIC, the ranch foreman reported that the helicopter was scheduled to return to SDL on the day of the accident. The fore
Probable cause
The sudden and inadvertent lowering of the collective to near the lower stop, followed by a simultaneous movement of the collective back up and the cyclic control to a nearly full-aft position, which resulted in the main rotor disc diverging from its normal plane of rotation and striking the tail rotor drive shaft and culminated in a loss of control and subsequent impact with terrain. Contributing
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Browse: Arizona · Eurocopter 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.
