Helio H 250 accident near Seward, AK
On June 21, 2019, a Helio H 250 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Seward, AK. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 21, 2019
- Place
- Seward, AK
- Aircraft
- Helio H 250 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 59.942°N, 148.664°W
- NTSB ID
- 20190624X12053
Official records · ANC19FA026
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn June 21, 2019, about 1546 Alaska daylight time, a Helio Courier H-250 airplane, N6314V, was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire after a collision with tree-covered terrain about 25 miles southeast of Seward Airport (SWD), Seward, Alaska. The airline transport pilot and two passengers received fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed from an unimproved grass-covered airstrip about 25 nautical miles from SWD, about 1546. According to a friend of the accident pilot, the purpose of the flight was to pick up two passengers from the remote unimproved airstrip in an area of Seward known as Johnstone Bay and return them to SWD. The pilot's friend, who owns and operates a 14 CFR Part 135 air taxi company based at SWD, explained that his air taxi had dropped off the couple to Johnstone Bay on June 18 and that the couple was originally scheduled to be picked up on June 25. The couple contacted the air taxi company owner via a satellite phone and asked to be picked up sooner. The air taxi company owner stated that, when the couple called for an early pickup, the air taxi airplane was configured on wheel-skis for glacier operations and would be unable to land at the unimproved airstrip until after the skis were removed. The air taxi company owner also stated that the accident pilot volunteered to pick up the couple, free of charge,
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees during takeoff, which resulted in an in-flight collision, a loss of control, and impact with terrain.
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Browse: Alaska · Helio 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.
