Cites Witness Report Tail Rotor Struck Tower On Takeoff

Below is the unedited text of the National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report on the May 29 downing of an Aero Med Sikorsky S-76 helicopter on takeoff from a rooftop helipad in Grand Rapids, MI. As ANN reported, both men onboard the helo were able to escape from the wreckage shortly before it caught fire.

In the report, the NTSB notes witness statements the helicopter's tail rotor appeared to contact a radio tower just before the helicopter crashed onto the roof of Spectrum Health Hospital, and the description of events seems to bear out those reports...

NTSB Identification: CHI08FA141
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, May 29, 2008 in Grand Rapids, MI
Aircraft: Sikorsky S-76A, registration: N176SH
Injuries: 2 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On May 29, about 1101 eastern daylight time, a Sikorsky S-76A helicopter, N176SH, operated by Aero Med Spectrum Health, was destroyed by post impact fire after the tail rotor struck a tower while departing from the heliport (MI97) on top of the Spectrum Health Hospital, Grand Rapids, Michigan. The airline transport (ATP) rated pilot and the ATP rated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector received serious injuries. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight departed the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR), Grand Rapids, Michigan, at 1041. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and a company flight plan was filed.

The pilot reported the flight was a FAA Part 135 check, which included an annual Sikorsky proficiency check and a 6-month helicopter instrument proficiency check. They departed GRR and flew the Global Positioning System (GPS) approach to the hospital heliport and landed on the pad. Before takeoff, the pilots discussed the construction cranes that were operating on the north side of the hospital and their effect on the approach and departure routes to the pad. The pilot reported that he lifted the helicopter straight up during the takeoff. The torque was about 94 percent and "everything was nominal." The helicopter was about 40 feet in the air when the pilot heard a "pop" and the helicopter started to yaw to the right and the helicopter started to vibrate. He instinctively added left pedal to counteract the right yaw, and it seemed that he had some tail rotor authority. Then the rate of the right yaw increased rapidly. He attempted to land back on the helicopter pad by using the cyclic and lowering the collective, but the main rotor blades impacted the 27-foot high brick structure located east of the helicopter pad, and the helicopter fell straight down impacting the hospital roof.

The FAA inspector, who was sitting in the left seat, exited the helicopter by screwing the pilot's pedals all the way aft and "shimmying" out the pilot's chin bubble on his back. He helped the pilot get out of the helicopter through the chin bubble, and they got behind a heating duct on the roof until the fire fighters arrived. A fire had started during the initial impact and soon after the pilots exited the helicopter, it was consumed by fire.

A hospital nurse reported that she heard the helicopter and went to the window to watch it takeoff. She saw the helicopter as it lifted off the pad and as it flew backwards toward the brick hospital structure and the radio towers on top of the structure. She saw the helicopter's tail rotor hit a tower.

A witness observed the accident from a 7th floor window across the street from the helicopter pad. He reported that the helicopter's tail rotor clipped the radio tower about mid-span and the tail rotor immediately disintegrated.

A hospital security video camera, which was located near the top of the brick structure and overlooked the helicopter landing pads, recorded a portion of the accident flight. It showed the helicopter as it came in for landing from the south and landed on about a 340-degree heading on the north landing spot. The helicopter stayed on the deck for about 3 minutes before it departed. The video showed the helicopter as it lifted off the north landing spot and it flew backwards toward the brick structure while the nose of the helicopter remained pointing to the northwest. It showed the helicopter as it went out of view of the video recorder as it continued to climb. Since it was a sunny day, the shadow of the helicopter and the towers on top of the brick structure were visible on the helicopter pad below. The shadow of the helicopter's tail rotor appeared to strike an object on one of the towers, and the tail rotor immediately shattered and the helicopter went into a right yaw. The helicopter came back into the view of the video recorder as the main rotor blades began to impact the brick structure. The video recording stopped and did not record the helicopter hitting the hospital roof.

A camera that was mounted one of the towers was removed for inspection. The camera body and its support frame exhibited impact marks. Carbon fibers were found lodged in a crevice of the camera body. The support structure that supported the camera exhibited impact marks.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov