Two Fatally Injured When The Aircraft Went Down

The NTSB has released a preliminary report from an accident involving an Air Methods AS350B3 that went down near Superior, AZ on December 15, 2015.

According to the report, at about 1723 mountain standard time, the Airbus helicopter, AS350B3, N74317, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain while maneuvering near Superior, Arizona. The helicopter air ambulance (HAA) was registered to Air Methods Corporation and was doing business as Native Air Ambulance, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135.

The commercial pilot and 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 flight. The cross-country positioning flight originated from the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IWA), Mesa, Arizona, at 1705 with an intended destination of Globe, Arizona.

According to the operator, the helicopter had transported a patient from the Cobre Valley Community Hospital, Globe, Arizona to the Baywood Heart Hospital, in Mesa, Arizona. The flight originated from their base in Globe, Arizona with a planned return to their base at the conclusion of the operation. After transporting the patient, the helicopter was repositioned to IWA for refueling. It subsequently departed IWA for the return flight to its base in Globe. The flight was being tracked by satellite at the company's national communication center, AIRCOM, in Omaha, Nebraska.

The company's operations control center (OCC), located in Denver, Colorado, was monitoring the flight on their Flight Management System. At 1723 mountain standard time, satellite tracking of the helicopter was lost. AIRCOM notified the OCC and a search was conducted by a company aircraft. The wreckage was located as a result of an aerial search at about 2054.

Examination of the accident site revealed that the helicopter impacted mountainous terrain about 10 miles north-northwest of Superior, Arizona. All major structural components of the helicopter were located within the wreckage debris path, which was about 380 feet in length, and oriented on a heading of about 200 degrees magnetic. The wreckage was recovered to a secure location for further examination.

(Image from file. Not accident aircraft)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov