Airbus Helicopters AS350 accident near Superior, AZ
On December 16, 2015, an Airbus Helicopters AS350 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Superior, AZ. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 16, 2015
- Place
- Superior, AZ
- Aircraft
- Airbus Helicopters AS350 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 33.425°N, 111.155°W
- NTSB ID
- 20151216X13718
Official records · WPR16FA040
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript - Survivor: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 15, 2015, about 1723 mountain standard time, an Airbus, AS350 B3 helicopter, N74317, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain while maneuvering near Superior, Arizona. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Air Methods Corporation, doing business as Native Air Ambulance, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135. The commercial pilot and the flight nurse sustained fatal injuries, and the flight paramedic sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed for the repositioning flight. The cross-country flight originated about 1708 from the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IWA), Mesa, Arizona, with an intended destination of Globe, Arizona. According to the operator, the helicopter was based in Globe and had transported a patient from the Cobre Valley Community Hospital in Globe to the Baywood Heart Hospital in Mesa. After transporting the patient, the pilot flew the helicopter to IWA for refueling before the return flight to Globe. (See figure 1) Figure 1-Overview of FlightsThe flight paramedic stated that after refueling, they departed IWA and headed east toward the Superstition Mountains. Local radar and flight data obtained from an onboard Appareo GAU2000 "data logger" device showed that the helicopter departed IWA about 1708 and headed east-northeast maintaining an altitude of about 500 ft above ground level (agl). The helicopter made a 360° right hand turn over the small community of Gold Canyon at 1715. Acco
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of helicopter control in mountainous terrain as the result of operating the helicopter outside the performance envelope of its hydraulic system and encountering the servo transparency phenomenon. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to perform low-level, high-speed maneuvers through mountainous terrain.
More accidents in AZ
- De Havilland DHC-6-300, Sep 27, 1989
- Cessna 402C, Jun 19, 1992
- Piper PA-31-350, Aug 17, 1983
- Piper PA-31-350, Feb 13, 1995
- Cessna 421C, Sep 2, 1995
Browse: Arizona · Airbus 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.
