Accident · 2000-09-23

NTSB case ANC00LA132 · Eurocopter AS-350B-3 · Part 91

What the record says

Event date: 2000-09-23
Event type: Accident
Highest injury level: No injuries
Aircraft: Eurocopter AS-350B-3 (N405AE)
Operating rule: Part 91
Operator: Temsco Helicopters, Inc Matched by aircraft (N-number)

Probable cause

The pilot's inadvertent activation of the collective flight stop/emergency fuel augmentation switch, which resulted in engine and main rotor overspeeds, thereby precipitating failures of the tail rotor drive shaft coupling and power turbine blades. A factor associated with the accident was the manufacturer's inadequate design of the flight stop switch, which has insufficient safeguards to preclude inadvertent activation.

Source: NTSB case ANC00LA132

Flight crew

Flight-crew details for this event aren't in the NTSB database extract we hold (its coverage starts with 2008 events) — a gap in our data, not an absence of crew.

Facts as the NTSB records them — GroundCheck adds no judgement. Preliminary records may be revised as the investigation proceeds.

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