N116SK
Registered owner: AIR METHODS LLC, CO (owner ≠ operator)
Operators of this aircraft
Who operated this tail, and how firmly we know it.
| Operator | Role | Period | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR METHODS LLC (QMLA) | Certificate holder | — | Matched by certificate designator |
Accident & incident history
No NTSB accidents or incidents on file for this aircraft.
Maintenance disclosures
INSTALL OVERHAULED MAIN WHEEL BRAKE ASSEMBLY ON 07/02/2024. NO ISSUES FOR SEVERAL MISSIONS UNTIL SATURDAY 07/06/2024. PILOT SAID BRAKE PEDDLE SOFT, TECHNICIANS ON SHIFT PERFORMED BRAKE BLEED PROCEDURE AND RETURNED AC TO SERVICE. AIRCRAFT LEFT ON MISSION TO PUEBLO COLORADO. WHEN LANDING PILOT SAYS HE EXPERIENCED BRAKE LOCK UP AND BLEW THROUGH MAIN LANDING WHEEL TIRE AND VEERED OFF RUNWAY. NOTE: FAA BECAME AWARE OF THIS ON 07/18/2024
UPON RETRACTING LANDING GEAR ON TAKEOFF, I NOTED BOTH MAIN GEAR INDICATIONS REMAINED RED. I CYCLED GEAR, RESULT WAS INDICATION OF GEAR DOWN AND LOCKED WITH GEAR LEVER IN BOTH UP AND DOWN SELECTION. THIS WAS AN ABNORMAL SITUATION. BEING THAT I HAD JUST DEPARTED THE AIRPORT AND WAS UNSURE OF THE MECHANICAL IRREGULARITIES CAUSE; I FELT IT PRUDENT TO RETURN TO BASE. I CONFIRMED GEAR DOWN AND LOCKED 3 DIFFERENT WAYS AS WELL AS FLYING BY THE TOWER FOR A VISUAL CONFIRMATION. TOWER INDICATED HE SAW 3 GEAR DOWN. LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT.
AFTER TAKEOFF DURING THE CLIMB JUST AFTER THE GEAR SELECTED UP THE GEN 1 FAILURE. JUST REQUESTED TO THE CONTROL TO RETURN TO THE FIELD AND EXECUTED THE PROCEDURE FOR GEN 1 FAILURE TO TURN THE OVERRIDE SWITCH ON AND PUT THE GEAR DOWN. FOUND SEVERAL GROUNDS WITH MINOR CORROSION. CLEANED THE TERMINALS, PLACED AIRCRAFT ON JACKS AND RETRACTED GEAR SEVERAL TIMES. PERFORMED A MX FLIGHT AND RETRACTED GEAR SEVERAL TIMES. NO FURTHER DEFECTS NOTED.
AS PILOT DEPARTED KAPA FOR KRAP, THE WEATHER CONDITIONS IN APA WAS LOW CEILINGS WITH RAIN. PILOT DEPARTED FROM RUNWAY 35R AND INITIALLY CLIMBED TO 8000 FEET. AS PILOT BEGAN CLIMBING AND ENTERED THE CLOUD LAYER, PILOT ENCOUNTERED SNOW AND SOME LIGHT MIXED ICE. PILOT ACTIVATED ALL AVAILABLE DEICE EQUIPMENT INCLUDING THE DEICE BOOTS, PROP HEAT, INERTIAL SEPARATOR, AND WINDSHIELD HEAT. PILOT WAS INSTRUCTED TO CONTINUE MY CLIMB TO MY FILED ALTITUDE OF FL190. AS PILOT BEGAN TO LEVEL OFF AT FL190, PILOT ENCOUNTERED MODERATE TURBULENCE AND HAD DIFFICULTY MAINTAINING ALTITUDE. PILOT REQUESTED A HIGHER ALTITUDE TO SEE IF PILOT COULD ESCAPE THE TURBULENCE AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO CLIMB TO FL230. UPON REACHING FL230, THE AUTO PILOT BEGAN LEVELING THE AIRPLANE. PILOT IMMEDIATELY NOTICED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS OSCILLATING IN PITCH. THE ALTIMETER WOULD REFLECT A CLIMB 100 FEET ABOVE MY ALTITUDE AND THEN DROP 100 FEET BELOW MY ALTITUDE. THIS CONTINUED FOR A FEW MINUTES. PILOT BEGAN SUSPECTING AN ISSUE WITH THE ELEVATOR. I DISCONNECTED THE AUTOPILOT TO FEEL THE CONTROL FORCES ON THE YOKE. AS I DID THIS, I NOTICED I WAS UNABLE TO TO PUSH THE YOKE FORWARD. NO MATTER HOW MUCH FORCE PILOT USED, PILOT WAS UNABLE TO MAKE THE AIRCRAFT DESCEND USING THE YOKE AND COULD FEEL HEAVY RESISTANCE. PILOT RE-ENGAGED THE AUTOPILOT AND ADVISED ATC THAT PILOT WAS SUSPECTED A FLIGHT CONTROL ISSUE WITH MY ELEVATOR CONTROL. PILOT ASKED ATC FOR A LOWER ALTITUDE TO SEE IF THE AUTOPILOT WAS CAPABLE OF DESCENDING. THE AUTOPILOT WAS ABLE TO DESCEND THE AIRCRAFT, HOWEVER, AS IT WAS DESCENDING THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED +/- 100 FEET OSCILLATIONS DESPITE BEING COMMANDED TO HOLD A DESCENT RATE OF 1000 FEET PER MINUTE. BASED ON THE CONTROL FORCES THAT PILOT WAS FEELING WHEN PILOT ATTEMPTED MANUAL CONTROL, PILOT BELIEVED THE ELEVATOR COULD BE STUCK BY ICE ACCUMULATION. PILOT KNEW THAT THE SURFACE TEMPERATURES WERE ALL POSITIVE AND REQUESTED A DESCENT TO 8,000 FEET. PILOT ALSO AGAIN ADVISED ATC THAT HE BELIEVED HE HAD A STUCK ELEVATOR AND DECLARED AN EMERGENCY. UPON REACHING 8,000 FEET, THE AIR TEMPERATURE INDICATED 1 DEGREE. UPON LEVELING OFF, THE AUTOPILOT CONTINUED PITCH OSCILLATIONS FOR A FEW SECONDS. THE OSCILLATIONS GRADUALLY IMPROVED THE LONGER PILOT SPENT AT 8000 FEET IN POSITIVE OAT. AT THIS POINT, PILOT DISCONNECTED THE AUTOPILOT AND AGAIN TESTED THE CONTROL ABILITY WITH THE YOKE. AT THIS POINT, PILOT FOUND THAT THE CONTROL FORCES FOR PITCH AND ROLL SEEMED TO BE BACK TO NORMAL. PILOT RE-ENGAGED THE AUTOPILOT AND CONTINUED ON TO RAPID CITY KNOWING THAT IF THERE WERE TO BE A POTENTIAL ISSUE, RAPID CITY HAS MORE SERVICES BOTH EMERGENCY AND MECHANICAL. PILOT ALSO UPDATED ATC THAT AIRCRAFT CONTROL SEEMED TO HAVE RETURNED TO NORMAL. PILOT COUPLED THE ILS RUNWAY 32 WITH THE AUTOPILOT AND MADE A SUCCESSFUL LANDING IN RAPID CITY WITH NO FURTHER CONTROL ISSUES. UPON ARRIVAL IN RAPID CITY, PILOT MADE CONTACT WITH MY AREA MANAGER AND REGIONAL AVIATION MANAGER TO PROVIDE THEM WITH UPDATES. ON CALL MAINTENANCE WAS ALSO CONTACTED TO INSPECT THE AIRCRAFT FOR ANY POTENTIAL ISSUES. ICING WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE CAUSE OF THIS SITUATION.
AFTER A NORMAL ENGINE START FOR A FLIGHT TO PICK UP A PATIENT AT P13 THE SELECTION OF GENERATOR 1 AND 2, BUSS AND AVIONICS 1 AND 2 RESULTED IN ALL THREE CREWMEMBERS DETECTING A VERY STRONG ODOR OF HOT/MELTING WIRE INSULATION/PLASTIC COMING FROM THE FLOOR AREA DIRECTLY BEHIND THE COCKPIT. THE ELECTRICAL BUSSES WERE DESELECTED AND THE ODOR SUBSIDED IMMEDIATELY. ACFT ENGINE WAS SHUTDOWN NORMALLY AND NO OTHER ISSUES WITH ANY SMOKE OR ODOR OCCURRED AFTER SHUTDOWN. NORMAL EGRESS FOR ALL THREE CREWMEMBERS WAS PERFORMED AND THE ACFT WAS LEFT OUT OF THE HANGAR AND MONITORED FOR ANY FOLLOWUP ISSUES FOR THE NEXT THREE HOURS. THIS EVENT OCCURRED IMMEDIATELY AFTER ELECTRICAL WORK WAS COMPLETED TO FIX AN AVIONICS BUS FAILURE THE DAY BEFORE.
FLAPS SET AT 15 DEGREES FOR NORMAL TAKEOFF ACCORDING TO PC12 SOP. AFTER LIFTOFF AND PASSING 100 KNOTS, FLAPS WERE SELECTED TO ZERO. SHORTLY AFTER MOVING FLAP HANDLE, SINGLE CHIME SOUNDED AND "FLAPS" AND "PUSHER" CAWS LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. LOOKED AT FLAP POSITION INDICATOR AND NOTICED FLAPS HAD ONLY MOVED ABOUT HALF WAY TO ZERO. THE PILOT CONTACTED TOWER ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND DECLARED AN EMERGENCY. PILOT MADE LT TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR RUNWAY AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. MX WAS CONTACTED AFTER UNLOADING PASSENGERS. MX RESET FLAP SYS AND PUT ACFT BACK INTO SERVICE. THIS IS THE 3RD OCCURRENCE IN 3 MONTHS WITH THIS PARTICULAR SYS. ALL 3 TIMES, THE SYS WAS RESET BY MX BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE MALFUNCTION.
DURING CRUISE FLIGHT FROM SGF TO SUS AT 19000FT, THE AUTOPILOT MADE A SHARP UNCOMMAND PITCH UP. THE PILOT DISCONNECTED THE A/P AND CONTINUED THE FLIGHT WITH A NORMAL APPROACH AND LANDING.