Aerospatiale AS350B crash near Tahoma, CA, United States

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 1, 2014, about 1300 Pacific daylight time (PDT), an SNIAS (Airbus Helicopters) AS350B, N3597T, collided with terrain on the shoreline of Buck Island Lake, near Tahoma, California. The helicopter was registered to, and operated by, Heli-Flite Inc. (dba Aris Helicopters), under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. The airline transport pilot and one passenger sustained serious injuries; the remaining two passengers were not injured. The helicopter sustained substantial damage during the accident sequence. The local flight departed from a helispot at Loon Lake, California, about 1255, with a planned destination of Buck Island Lake. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company flight plan had been filed. The helicopter was being utilized for transportation of both supplies and passengers (event organizers) for the Jeep and Jeepers Jamboree off-road events. The events took place along the Rubicon Trail during two adjoining weekends. The helicopter, pilot, and a fuel truck were provided by Heli-Flite, and were all utilized at the discretion of the event organizers. The accident helicopter had been flown by the pilot for the event the prior weekend. During that period, multiple uneventful missions were completed transporting crew, as well as equipment and supplies under external load utilizing the helicopter's long-line. On the morning of the accident, the pilot departed from the helicopter's temporary base in Placerville, California, and performed multiple crew repositioning flights to the Buck Island Lake area, as well as transporting external loads from Loon Lake to Rubicon Springs. Prior to the accident flight, he departed from Loon Lake with two passengers onboard, having just serviced the helicopter with fuel. The pilot's intention was to pick up a third occupant at Buck Island Lake, about 3 miles to the east. The inbound flight lasted about 3 minutes and was uneventful. The passenger being picked up observed the helicopter approach the landing spot over the lake from the south. The helicopter landed, and he boarded. Once secure he gave the pilot the signal to depart, and the helicopter lifted into a hover about 20-30 feet off the ground. The passengers all recounted similar observations, stating that having attained a hover, the helicopter began a 180-degree turn to the south, and then proceeded to move forward. Rather than climb, the helicopter descended while still maintaining forward movement, crashing into trees and rocks south of the takeoff point. The pilot reported that after boarding the passenger, he raised the helicopter to the tops of the trees which bordered the area to the north and northwest. He anticipated a headwind "bump" as he climbed over the trees while on a north heading. The bump occurred, and he began a slow left turn into the wind with the intention of assessing whether to perform a direct headwind departure, or perform a left downwind departure back over the lake and towards the direction he had arrived. He stated that he had accomplished this maneuver in similar conditions multiple times before, and decided to continue the turn for a downwind departure. He reported that during the initial stages of the turn, the helicopter was suddenly "shoved" back down. He decided that he would not be able to recover, and continued the turn, aiming for a spot between rocks and the trees ahead. He attributed the rapid descent to an unexpected downdraft, rather than a problem with the helicopter. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot held an airline transport certificate with ratings for helicopter, airplane single-engine land, airplane multiengine land, and instrument helicopter and airplane. He reported a total flight time of 8,000 hours in all aircraft, with 3,000 in the accident make and model. He held a USDA/USDI Interagency Helicopter Pilot Card, and reported flight experience in flight test, firefighting, and air medical operations. He took and passed a recurrent pilot test in accordance with Federal Aviation Air Regulations 135.293, on June 11, 2014. This test was accomplished in the accident helicopter, with an FAA inspector. He stated that he had flown in the same capacity at the event for the last twelve years, and had utilized the accident helispot hundreds of times over that period. This was the first year he had flown for the event in an AS350B, and for the prior years he had utilized a Bell UH1, or the Bell 206 Jet and Long Rangers. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe helicopter was originally manufactured as an AS350D by SNIAS in 1979. In 1989 it was converted to an AS350B model by removing the Honeywell (formerly Lycoming) LTS101-600A2 engine, and installing a Turbomeca 1B engine. The helicopter was configured with single pilot controls on the right side, and a belly-mounted cargo hook system. Both forward doors had been removed for flight operations. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe closest aviation weather observation station was located at Lake Tahoe Airport, which was about 14 miles southeast of the accident site, at a similar elevation. An aviation routine weather report (METAR) was recorded at 1253 PDT. It reported: wind from 030 degrees at 6 knots; visibility 10 miles; broken clouds at 8,500 ft; temperature 28 degrees C; dew point 7 degrees C; altimeter 30.26 inches of mercury. A photograph of the accident site taken from a California Highway Patrol helicopter about 90 minutes after the accident revealed that the containment boom protecting the dam was curved towards the southeast. The curvature was consistent with a wind direction generally out of the northwest. Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) simulations were performed to estimate wind and turbulence conditions in the area of the accident at 1300 PDT. Advanced Research WRF version 3.2.1.5 was run with 3 domains with horizontal grid spacing of 8 kilometers (km), 1.6 km, and 320 meters over the accident site. Results from this model run estimated 10-meter wind magnitudes were approximately 4 meters-per-second (~8 knots), with vertical air motion near the surface identified as being less than 30 feet-per-minute (in a downward direction). Richardson Number, which is used as a proxy for estimating potential for aircraft-scale turbulence, was greater than 1.0 above the surface near the accident site. Richardson Numbers greater than 1.0 generally indicate a low potential for turbulence. Although grid spacing of this model run was high (small distances), the model was not able to resolve fine terrain features or vegetation such as tall trees. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe helicopter was originally manufactured as an AS350D by SNIAS in 1979. In 1989 it was converted to an AS350B model by removing the Honeywell (formerly Lycoming) LTS101-600A2 engine, and installing a Turbomeca 1B engine. The helicopter was configured with single pilot controls on the right side, and a belly-mounted cargo hook system. Both forward doors had been removed for flight operations. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe wreckage was examined at the accident site by the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC). The accident site was located on the northwest shore of the lake, at an elevation of 6,445 ft mean sea level (msl) within a geographic bowl inside the confines of the Eldorado National Forest, 8 miles southwest of Tahoma. The primary wreckage consisted of the fuselage and tailboom, and was located on the lakeshore adjacent to the intersection of two concrete dam walls. Fragments of the main rotor blades were strewn around the site and into the adjoining lake. The farthest located component was a main rotor blade tip, which came to rest about 350 feet northeast. The remaining two blade tips were located in the immediate vicinity of the fuselage. All primary airframe components were accounted for at the accident site. The takeoff point was on a flat rock slab in between the two dam walls. Thirty- to forty-feet-tall trees surrounded the area 60 ft