CHI04MA182

The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance as a result of fog conditions. A contributing factor was inadequate weather and dispatch information relayed to the pilot.

A single-engine emergency medical services (EMS) helicopter was destroyed after impacting trees in a national forest about 0532 eastern daylight time. Night visual meteorological conditions with mist and light fog prevailed in the area of the accident site. The flight crew was contacted about 0452 to determine if they could accept the mission. The pilot performed a weather check and accepted the mission about 0455. He departed about 0502. The helicopter arrived at the accident scene and landed on the interstate highway near a rest stop about 0523. The helicopter departed the scene about 10 minutes later, flying toward the national forest located north of the interstate. A witness reported that the helicopter made no abrupt maneuvers and that the engine "didn't sound like it was missing, sputtering, or any other kind of power loss." He reported that the helicopter was straight and level then it "pitched forward to go forward." He reported the helicopter was "flying level" as it descended into the trees. He reported that the helicopter's searchlight was on and that fog and mist were visible at treetop level. Postaccident inspection of the helicopter revealed no preexisting anomalies that could be associated with a pre-impact condition. Download of the engine's electronic control unit nonvolatile memory indicated that the engine was operating at 98 percent Ng when it impacted the trees. Three other EMS helicopter operators had turned down the mission, including one who had attempted it but had to return because of fog conditions. However, the accident pilot was not informed that other pilots had declined the mission because of fog.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 13, 2004, about 0532 eastern daylight time, a Bell 407 helicopter, N503MT, operated by Med-Trans Corporation (MTC) collided with trees shortly after takeoff from interstate highway 26 (I-26) near Newberry, South Carolina. The pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, and patient were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact and postcrash fire. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 emergency medical services (EMS) flight was en route to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, where it had departed about 0502. Night visual meteorological conditions with mist and light fog prevailed in the area of the accident site. A company flight plan had been filed, and flight-following was being provided by the Spartanburg County Communications 911 Department of the Spartanburg County Office of Emergency Services. The accident pilot was notified of the EMS mission about 0452. After performing a weather check, he accepted the mission about 0455. The accident helicopter departed the Spartanburg Regional Medical Center helicopter pad about 7 minutes later en route to the accident site, which was located at the 64-mile marker rest stop on I-26. The accident pilot reported that three people were on board and that he had 2 hours of fuel. He estimated that they would arrive at the accident site in 18 to 20 minutes. The direct distance from the helicopter pad to the rest stop was about 42 miles. The helicopter cruise speed was about 130 knots. The accident pilot reported that they were on-scene about 0523. Emergency personnel at the accident site reported that the helicopter's "night sun" searchlight was on as it approached the landing zone. The helicopter circled the landing zone once before landing in front of a fire truck in the eastbound lane of I-26. The witnesses reported that there was light ground fog in the area and that it was foggier above the treetops, which was evident when the helicopter descended with its searchlight on. Emergency personnel reported that the helicopter was on-scene about 10 minutes before it departed across the westbound lanes of I-26 and climbed above the trees. A truck driver who was stopped on the eastbound lane of I-26 reported during a postaccident interview that he was about 75 to 100 yards from the helicopter when it landed. He reported that he observed the helicopter takeoff from the landing zone, proceed across the westbound lanes of I-26, climb above the trees, and turn toward Spartanburg. He reported that with the helicopter's searchlight on, he could see the helicopter's silhouette and that there was slight fog and haze in the area. He reported that the helicopter made no abrupt maneuvers and that the engine "didn't sound like it was missing, sputtering, or any other kind of power loss." He reported that the helicopter was straight and level then "pitched forward to go forward." He reported the helicopter was "flying level" as it descended into the trees. At 0531:55, the Spartanburg County 911 dispatch desk recorded about 1 second of a "keyed" microphone, but no voice transmission was recorded when the microphone was activated. About 0538, the Newberry County Communications Center 911 contacted Spartanburg County 911 dispatch and reported receiving a call that the helicopter had crashed. Spartanburg County 911 dispatch and Newberry County 911 began to try to locate and communicate with the accident helicopter. About 0629, Newberry 911 informed Spartanburg County 911 dispatch that emergency personnel had located the helicopter wreckage. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot was hired by MTC in April 2003 and had worked for another EMS operator previously. Company records indicated that the pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with a helicopter rating and an instrument rating in helicopters. He had about 2,133 total flight hours, which were all in helicopters and had flown about 104 hours in the Bell 407. He had flown 14.7 hours in the last 90 days, and 6.1 hours in the last 30 days. He had logged 250 hours of total night flight. He had flown 5.7 hours of night flight in the last 90 days, and 2.7 hours of night flight in the last 30 days. He had logged 48 hours of simulated instrument flight with .9 hour of simulated instrument flight in a Bell 407. There was no record of flight in actual instrument conditions. Pilot flight records indicated that the pilot had logged about 1,095 hours in a Robinson R-22 helicopter, 443 hours in a Robinson R-44 helicopter, and 530 hours in a Bell 206 helicopter. The pilot's MTC training records indicate that he completed initial new hire ground and flight training between April 15 and April 20, 2003. During initial flight training, he received 6.6 hours of flight training in a Bell 407 of which 1.6 hours were at night and 0.2 hour was simulated instrument flight. He completed recurrent training in a Bell 407 on August 28, 2003, receiving 1.3 hours of flight instruction of which 0.2 hour was simulated instrument flight. He next completed recurrent training in a Bell 407 on April 19, 2004, receiving 1.2 hours flight instruction of which 0.3 hour was simulated instrument flight. On April 27, 2004, he satisfactorily completed the required 12-month 14 CFR 135.293 competency check and the 14 CFR 135.299 line check in a Bell 407 lasting 0.9 hour. Pilots and flight crewmembers at the MTC base in Spartanburg described the accident pilot as being very conscientious and conservative. Crewmembers reported that he sometimes referred to himself as a "weather chicken" because he was so cautious about flying in weather. One pilot reported that the accident pilot would not have flown a mission "if he couldn't see the ground," adding that he was not a "push the weather kind of guy." Another pilot reported that he was surprised that the accident pilot had departed with a temperature/dew point spread of 0. He reported that the accident pilot had turned down previous missions with similar temperature/dew point spreads. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The single-engine Bell 407, serial number 53498, was manufactured in 2001, had seating for five, and was configured for EMS operations. It had a maximum gross weight of 5,250 pounds. The engine was a 650 horsepower Rolls-Royce 250-C47B engine. The last approved aircraft inspection program (AAIP) inspection was conducted on July 5, 2004; the helicopter had flown 8 hours since the AAIP inspection and had a total time of 710 hours. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector examined the aircraft's maintenance records and reported that no discrepancies were found. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION The closest weather reporting station was Greenwood County Airport (GRD), located about 24 miles southwest of the accident site. The 0456 reported weather at GRD was: winds calm, visibility 5 miles in mist, sky clear below 12,000 feet, temperature 22 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 21 degrees C, altimeter 29.94 inches of mercury. The 0556 reported weather at GRD was: winds from 200 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 4 miles in mist, ceiling broken at 300 feet, temperature and dew point 22 degrees C, altimeter 29.95 inches of mercury. The 0604 reported special weather observation at GRD was: winds from 210 degrees at 4 knots, visibility 1.75 miles in mist, ceiling broken at 300 feet, temperature and dew point 22 degrees C, altimeter 29.95 inches of mercury. The next closest weather reporting facility was at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), located in Greer, South Carolina, 38 miles northwest of the accident site. The 0413 reported special weather observation at GSP was: wind calm, visibility 1.5 miles in mist, sky clear below 12,000 feet, temperature and dew point 21 degrees C, altimeter 29.93 inches of mercury. The 0443 reported special weather observation at GSP was: wind calm, visibility 6 miles in mist, sky clear below