Aircraft Accident

Crash Following Loss of Engine Power Due to

Fuel Exhaustion

Air Methods Corporation

Eurocopter AS350 B2, N352LN

Near Mosby, Missouri

August 26, 2011
go to http://www.ntsb.gov

National Transportation Safety Board. 2013. Crash Following Loss of Engine Power Due to Fuel Exhaustion, Air Methods Corporation, Eurocopter AS350 B2, N352LN, Near Mosby, Missouri, August 26, 2011. Aircraft Accident Report AAR-13/02. Washington, DC: NTSB.

Abstract:
This report discusses the August 26, 2011, accident involving a Eurocopter AS350 B2 helicopter, N352LN, which crashed following a loss of engine power as a result of fuel exhaustion near the Midwest National Air Center, Mosby, Missouri. The pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, and patient were killed, and the helicopter was substantially damaged by impact forces.

Safety issues identified in this accident include the following: distraction due to nonoperational use of portable electronic devices during flight and ground operations; the lack of Air Methods Operational Control Center involvement in decision-making; inadequate guidance on autorotation entry procedures; the need for simulator training of helicopter emergency medical services pilots; and the lack of a flight recorder. As a result of this investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board makes safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Air Methods Corporation, reiterates previous recommendations to the FAA, and reiterates and reclassifies a previous recommendation to the FAA.