Agusta A109 accident near Brainerd, MN
On June 28, 2019, an Agusta A109 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Brainerd, MN. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- June 28, 2019
- Place
- Brainerd, MN
- Aircraft
- Agusta A109 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 46.403°N, 94.128°W
- NTSB ID
- 20190628X64455
Official records · CEN19FA185
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Operator's Communications Center Timeline: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn June 28, 2019, about 0040 central daylight time, an Agusta Spa A109S helicopter, N11NM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport (BRD), near Brainerd Lakes, Minnesota. The pilot and flight nurse were fatally injured, and the flight paramedic was seriously injured. The helicopter was operated by North Memorial Healthcare as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 helicopter air ambulance flight. The flight was returning to BRD after delivering a patient to North Memorial Heliport (MY77), Robbinsdale, Minnesota. An onboard Appareo Vision 1000 device recorded flight data, cockpit imagery, and audio of the flight. The helicopter departed MY77 at 2348, and the pilot received an instrument flight rules clearance from air traffic control (ATC) to climb to 6,000 ft mean sea level (msl) and fly direct to BRD. At 2356, while holding an iPad, the pilot stated on intercom to the paramedic and/or flight nurse that visibility at BRD was "1 mile, looks good." The pilot requested the instrument landing system runway 23 (ILS RWY 23) approach and informed the controller that he had obtained the current weather at BRD. At 0028, the pilot selected the BRD automated surface observing system (ASOS) frequency. The ASOS transmission included a ceiling of 200 ft above ground level (agl) and 1/4-mile visibility with fog. The controller cleared the helicopter for the ILS RWY 23 approach. Shortly thereafter, the ASOS-transmitted weather included 1/2-mile visibility with haze, and the pilot stated "awesome, 1/2 we're le
Probable cause
The pilot's spatial disorientation during an instrument approach in dark night instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a loss of control and subsequent impact with terrain.
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Browse: Minnesota · Agusta 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.
