Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT), Helicopter Safety
The NTSB cites a pilot’s failure to maintain altitude in a Huey’s CFIT crash in New Mexico.
The 6,400-hour commercial pilot told rescuers it was “all my fault” that the Bell UH-1H Iroquois struck the ground on a dark-night flight shortly after takeoff from Raton, New Mexico, U.S., killing four of his five passengers and seriously injuring the fifth. The pilot died soon afterward, en route to a hospital.
Helicopter Safety, Maintenance Matters, News
A 300-hour inspection could have detected problems with the engine compressor in a Bell 206 before a fatal crash the NTSB says.
The Bell 206B pilot knew of the engine problem before takeoff, the TSB says.
The board cited a June accident involving separation of a tail boom during a sightseeing flight in Hawaii.
