Aerospatiale AS 355F1 accident near West Windsor, NJ
On September 15, 2012, an Aerospatiale AS 355F1 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near West Windsor, NJ. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 15, 2012
- Place
- West Windsor, NJ
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale AS 355F1 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 40.300°N, 74.669°W
- NTSB ID
- 20120915X43730
Official records · ERA12FA563
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Shelf Item: FSS Audio: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Shelf Item: ATC Audio: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 15, 2012, at 1200 eastern daylight time, an Aerospatiale AS 355F1, N58020, operated by Analar Corporation, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain following an in-flight breakup near West Windsor, New Jersey. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The positioning flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the planned flight to Atlantic City International Airport (ACY), Atlantic City, New Jersey. The flight originated from Princeton Airport (39N), Princeton, New Jersey, about 1155. According to the owner and president of the operator, the helicopter had flown during the summer with a loaner main transmission, while its own transmission was sent out for repair. After the repair was complete, the helicopter's main transmission was received and then reinstalled on September 13, 2012. After the installation, the president conducted a maintenance ground run, followed by a 30-minute maintenance test flight, with no anomalies noted. Earlier during the day of the accident, the accident pilot completed a roundtrip flight uneventfully, with a relative of the helicopter owner onboard. Specifically, the pilot flew from 39N to the West 30th Street Heliport (JRA), New York, New York, picked up the passenger, and flew back to 39N. At the conclusion of that flight, the helicopter was "hot fueled" to its maximum fuel capacity and then departed on the accident flight to pick up another relative of the helicopter owner at ACY. The pre
Probable cause
Disconnection of the upper rod end from the fore/aft servo due to severely worn threads, which resulted in a loss of control and separation of a main rotor blade during cruise flight. Contributing to the accident were incorrect maintenance procedures and inadequate maintenance inspections performed by the operator, and insufficient inspection criteria provided by the helicopter manufacturer.
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Browse: New Jersey · 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.
