LAX00GA073

The failure of the pilot to maintain altitude and clearance from terrain during a turn to reverse direction after encountering instrument meteorological conditions. A factor in the accident was the pilot's failure to obtain a full weather briefing before departure which accurately forecast the conditions encountered.

The helicopter impacted terrain while reversing course in an unlit area, on a dark night, in marginal VFR weather. During a (pilot) abbreviated preflight weather briefing, the pilot did not request to receive the area forecast, which forecast cloud ceilings below 1,000 feet agl and visibilities less that 3 statute miles in precipitation, fog, and mist along the route. The pilot also declined to hear an airman's meteorological notice (AIRMET), which forecast areas of instrument flight conditions and mountain obscuration along his route of flight. The pilot was advised by the briefer that VFR flight was not recommended.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On January 11, 2000, at 2100 hours Pacific standard time, an Arrow Falcon Exporters, Inc. OH-58A helicopter, N901SF, was destroyed when it impacted terrain in an agricultural field 3 miles southwest of Crows Landing, California. The airline transport certificated pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. The helicopter, operated as a public-use aircraft under 14 CFR Part 91 by the San Francisco (California) Police Department (SFPD), was conducting a night cross-country flight. The helicopter departed from Porterville, California, at 1915, and was destined for San Francisco. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the nearest weather reporting locations and no flight plan was filed. According to police department personnel, the helicopter was flown to Porterville the prior day for routine (50-hour) maintenance. Porterville is the location of Arrow Falcon Exporters, Inc., holder of the helicopter's type certificate. Personnel at Arrow Falcon said that the helicopter arrived in Porterville about 1230 on Monday, January 10. The pilot had intended to arrive earlier (about 0730), but was delayed departing by fog in San Francisco. They departed from Porterville for the return flight at 1915 on January 11th. The pilot's wife said she spoke with him between 1400 and 1600 on the afternoon of the accident, before he left Porterville. She did not recall anything in the conversation that suggested he felt he was under pressure to return. He asked her about the weather, and she told him there was a storm approaching and to wait another night in Porterville if necessary. En route, in proximity of Los Banos, the pilot advised Stockton Approach Control that he intended to navigate via interstate highway 5 at 1,000 feet altitude (msl). Radar and radio contact with the helicopter were subsequently lost. The wreckage was located the following morning. Recorded radar track data (Continuous Data Recording, CDR) was obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Stockton Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility (attached). At 2052:09, the helicopter was 3 miles west of the town of Gustine, and about 1 mile east of highway 5. In the next minute the aircraft track veered northeast, away from highway 5, and, in the following minute, the track made a wide left turn to a northwesterly heading, which placed the helicopter back on a converging heading with highway 5 from about 2.5 miles east of the highway. At 2056, the track was back near highway 5 and proceeded northbound along the east side of the highway. At 2056:59, the track was approximately 1/4 mile east of highway 5 and, in the next minute, the track made a right-hand turn to a south-southeasterly heading at which time radar contact was lost near the accident site at 2058:00. In the same 6-minute period, the helicopter's mode-C altitude readout varied from 500 feet (msl), down to 300 feet, then up to 800 feet, then down to 300 feet, up to 600 feet, down to 400 feet, and then up to 700 feet before radar contact was lost at 600 feet. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot was employed by the SFPD in 1974 and performed various ground-based law enforcement duties until August 21, 1999, when he was transferred to the Special Operations Division (Air Support Unit) and became a police department helicopter pilot. Prior to 1999, and unrelated to his law enforcement duties, the pilot was issued fixed wing and rotary wing pilot certificates on his own initiative. He earned a private pilot certificate in 1978; a commercial pilot certificate in 1979; an instrument rating in 1979; a multiengine rating in 1985; and an airline transport pilot certificate in 1986. The pilot also earned a flight instructor rating for single engine airplanes in 1984, for multiengine airplanes in 1985, and for instrument instruction in 1990. Prior to March, 1996, the pilot accumulated approximately 4,700 hours in fixed wing aircraft performing flight instruction, charter flying (Part 135), and personal flying. Between September 1989 and March 1990, the pilot took a leave of absence from the police department and flew with a regional airline as a first officer in twin-engine turboprop aircraft. According to a flight instructor who flew with the pilot, the pilot began training in rotary wing aircraft in 1996, on his own initiative, in anticipation of the reactivation of the police department air support unit. He desired to become a pilot in the unit, which had been deactivated since 1977. He acquired a private pilot helicopter rating in September 1996; a commercial helicopter rating in November 1997; and an instrument helicopter rating in February 1998. At the time of the accident the pilot had logged 392 total helicopter flight hours, of which 147 were in the same make and model helicopter. In the previous 6 months the pilot logged total flying time of 256 hours (165 in helicopters); 42 hours at night (31 in helicopters); and 18 hours of simulated or actual instrument time (3 in helicopters). He logged 34 instrument approaches (6 in helicopters). The pilot's training was received from a civilian school flying Schweizer 269 (piston engine) helicopters. After completing his helicopter instrument training in February 1998, with a total of 160 hours in the Schweizer 269, the pilot acquired 23 hours of Bell 206 (turbine engine) helicopter experience, flying with a traffic reporter in Los Angeles in August 1999. Following assignment to the Special Operations Division in August 1999, the pilot received an additional 17.2 hours of training during October and December 1999. The chief flight instructor at the school, who did not personally instruct the pilot, said that after the pilot obtained his helicopter ratings, he returned to the school and rented a Schweizer 269 to gain experience. It was during this time that the chief instructor had to give the pilot additional training regarding his inadequate radio procedures, and for not complying with the airport noise abatement procedure. He characterized the pilot as a "do it my way kind of guy" who was somewhat arrogant and did not accept advice from other, more experienced, helicopter pilots. The chief instructor reported that he had "some reservations" when he learned that the pilot was going to be the SFPD helicopter pilot because he was "very bold with little experience in helicopter operations." The flight instructor, who did instruct the pilot, characterized him as an aggressive, mission-oriented pilot/law enforcement officer who, although qualified in the OH-58, on several occasions flew missions requiring skills that were beyond his rotary wing experience level. The flight instructor felt that the pilot's personal commitment to the mission objective sometimes influenced his judgment. According to the instructor, the pilot was the sole pilot in the Air Support Unit and reported to police department managers who did not possess specific aviation expertise. The unit did not have, or operate in accordance with, an Operations Manual. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The helicopter was manufactured by Bell Helicopter Company and delivered to the United States Army in 1972. The helicopter was surplused by the Army and ownership was transferred to the city of San Francisco. The helicopter was subsequently converted for civil use, and was issued a civil (Restricted Category) airworthiness certificate in accordance with the Arrow Falcon Exporters, Inc., Restricted Category type certificate. Under the type certificate, the helicopter was approved for agricultural application operations under visual flight rules only. In November 1999, because the helicopter was not being used for agricultural operations, the SFPD surrendered the Restricted Category airworthiness certificate to the FAA's Oakland (California) Flight Standards District Office, and, at the time of the accident, the helicopter was being operated