Eurocopter AS365 N520CF accident near Hamilton, Ohio

Probable cause

The pilot’s decision to continue the landing without having visually identified wires that were known to be in the vicinity of the landing zone, which resulted in a collision with the wires while attempting an off-airport landing in dark night visual meteorological conditions.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was conducting an air medical flight in the helicopter during early morning hours in dark night visual meteorological conditions. About 9 miles out from the intended landing zone, he contacted on-scene fire department personnel and asked for site information. The fire department personnel reported that there were high voltage power lines on the south side of the landing zone. The pilot made an approach and was looking out for the powerlines but could not locate the wires. He was wearing night vision goggles and could see the tower but not the wires. He also could not determine which way the wires were running off the tower. The pilot used the landing light and moved it up and down to try and find the wires but could not locate them. He thought the wires were farther out from the landing zone and not below the helicopter. However, as the helicopter descended for landing, the main rotor blades contacted the wires and the helicopter fell about 30 to 50 ft. All three crew members egressed after the pilot shut down the engines. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor blades, main rotor gearbox, and motor mounts; additionally, the left engine was hanging off the side of the helicopter.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA22LA334 for the full record.