Eurocopter AS350 accident near Talkeetna, AK
On March 31, 2013, an Eurocopter AS350 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Talkeetna, AK. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 31, 2013
- Place
- Talkeetna, AK
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter AS350 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 62.321°N, 149.934°W
- NTSB ID
- 20130331X41252
Official records · ANC13GA036
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Onboard Electronic Recording Device - Attachment 1 Data: Document (CSV), on ntsb.gov
- Onboard Electronic Recording Device 17 - Specialist's Factual Report of Investigation: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Addendum-1 Onboard Electronic Recording Device 17 - Specialist's Factual report of Investigation: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Addendum 2 - Onboard Electronic Recording Device: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/aviation.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-14/03. On March 30, 2013, at 2320 Alaska daylight time, a Eurocopter AS350 B3 helicopter, N911AA, impacted terrain while maneuvering during a search and rescue (SAR) flight near Talkeetna, Alaska. The airline transport pilot, an Alaska state trooper serving as a flight observer for the pilot, and a stranded snowmobiler who had requested rescue were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact and postcrash fire. The helicopter was registered to and operated by the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) as a public aircraft operations flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed in the area at the time of the accident. The flight originated at 2313 from a frozen pond near the snowmobiler's rescue location and was destined for an off-airport location about 16 mi south.
Probable cause
The pilot's decision to continue flight under visual flight rules into deteriorating weather conditions, which resulted in the pilot's spatial disorientation and loss of control. Also causal was the Alaska Department of Public Safety's punitive culture and inadequate safety management, which prevented the organization from identifying and correcting latent deficiencies in risk management and pilot
More accidents in AK
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Browse: Alaska · 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.
