Night Flight Through Cajon Pass Ends In Disaster
The NTSB has released its
preliminary report on the December 10 crash of a Mercy Air Services
Bell 412SP helicopter (file photo of type below) near the
summit of Cajon Pass and Hesperia, CA that killed its pilot and two
medical crewmembers.
The reports says the crew was repositioning the chopper after
transporting an injured patient from Phelan, CA to Loma Linda. The
flight departed Loma Linda University Medical Center at 17:42, with
a planned destination of Southern California Logistics Airport in
Victorville, CA.
Night visual meteorological conditions predominately prevailed
along the route of flight, and a company VFR flight plan
had been filed.
According to the report, the crew had traversed Cajon Pass near
the accident site five times previously on the date of the
accident. All other flights that day were conducted during the
day.
Reported weather conditions from Victorville, 15 nm northeast of
the accident site, were visibility 10 statute miles; a broken cloud
layer at 3,800 feet, and an overcast cloud layer at 4,900;
temperature 11 degrees Celsius; dew point 03 degrees Celsius.
Weather conditions at Ontario International Airport, Ontario,
California, 19 nm southwest of the accident site, were visibility
10 statute miles; a broken cloud layer at 3,800 feet, and an
overcast cloud layer at 5,500; temperature 13 degrees Celsius; dew
point 06 degrees Celsius.
The aircraft was equipped with a satellite tracking
system reporting its location and other flight information to a
ground base while in operation. Every 30 seconds the base equipment
recorded the date, time, latitude, and longitude from the chopper's
on-board system. Although the system was capable of also recording
the transmitted altitude and airspeed, the company had not yet
installed the required software upgrade.
The NTSB lead investigator reviewed the transmitted data finding
the helicopter departed Loma Linda and flew towards the Cajon Pass
in a northwest direction. The flight path tracked Interstate 15
northbound until it had almost reached the summit of the pass. At
that point the chopper's track veered northeast while the
Interstate turned toward the north. The last known position of
Mercy Air 2 was recorded at 1755, and was 0.3 nautical miles
northwest of the first identified impact point.
The San Bernardino County Fire Department dispatch center
received numerous calls of an explosion and fire northeast of
Interstate 15 in the area of Oak Hills around 18:00. Fire rescue
personnel responding to the calls reported search efforts hampered
by intermittent waves of fog blanketing the area.
Searchers eventually found the wreckage in mountainous terrain
on a 45-degree slope between 4,000 to 4,300 feet MSL. The debris
path emanated uphill on a 155-degree bearing from the first
identified impact point at the base of the slope.
Examination of the maintenance and flight department records
revealed no unresolved maintenance discrepancies with the
helicopter prior to departure.