Eurocopter Deutschland Gmbh MBB BK 117 accident near Hertford, NC
On September 8, 2017, an Eurocopter Deutschland Gmbh MBB BK 117 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Hertford, NC. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 8, 2017
- Place
- Hertford, NC
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter Deutschland Gmbh MBB BK 117 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 36.290°N, 76.487°W
- NTSB ID
- 20170908X24535
Official records · ERA17MA316
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
- Investigation page: status, final report and safety recommendations
Air traffic control records
- Company Radio Transmissions Recordings: Document (DOCX), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 8, 2017, about 1120 eastern daylight time, an Airbus (formerly Eurocopter) Deutschland GmbH MBB BK117 C-2 helicopter, N146DU, powered by two Safran Helicopter (SafranHE) Arriel 1 E2 turboshaft engines, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Hertford, North Carolina. The commercial pilot, two flight nurses, and one patient were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 air ambulance flight. According to Air Methods Corporation (AMC), the operator of the flight, the pilot and both medical crewmembers departed at 0827 on the morning of the flight from their base at Johnston Regional Airport (JNX), Smithfield, North Carolina, for Elizabeth City Regional Airport (ECG), Elizabeth City, North Carolina, for refueling. The helicopter arrived at ECG about 0924 and departed for Sentara Albemarle Medical Center Heliport (NC98) in Elizabeth City about 1011. The helicopter arrived at NC98 about 1022, after which the patient was boarded onto the helicopter. About 1108, the pilot radioed the Duke Life Flight operations center and advised that that the helicopter was departing for Duke University North Heliport (NC92), which was 130 nautical miles (nm) away, with 2 hours of fuel and four people aboard. There were no further communications from the helicopter. GPS tracking data transmitted from the helicopter every 60 seconds showed that it departed NC98 to the northwest, climbed to a GPS altitude of about 1,000 ft mean sea level (msl), and turned west. The helicopter then climbed to a GPS alt
Probable cause
A failure of the rear bearing in the No. 2 engine, which (1) created multiple and likely unexpected and confusing cockpit indications, resulting in the pilot's improper diagnosis and subsequent erroneous shutdown of the No. 1 engine, and (2) the resulting degraded the performance of the No. 2 engine, until it ultimately lost power. The complete loss of engine power likely occurred at an altitude a
More accidents in NC
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Browse: North Carolina
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
