Accident · 2010-07-28

What the record says

Event date

2010-07-28

Event type

Accident

Highest injury level

Fatal injury

Aircraft

AMERICAN EUROCOPTER LLC AS 350 B3 (N509AM)

Operating rule

Part 91

Operator

Air Methods Corp. Operator named in NTSB report

Operated by (per NTSB report)

Air Methods

Probable cause

The repair station technician did not properly install the fuel inlet union during reassembly of the engine; the operator’s maintenance personnel did not adequately inspect the technician's work; and the pilot who performed the post maintenance check flight did not follow the helicopter manufacturer's procedures. Also causal were the lack of requirements by the Federal Aviation Administration, the operator, and the repair station for an independent inspection of the work performed by the technician. A contributing factor was the inadequate oversight of the repair station by the Federal Aviation Administration, which resulted in the repair station performing recurring maintenance at the operator’s facilities without authorization.

Flight crew

Certification and experience as recorded in the NTSB accident database for this event. The NTSB records these facts about the crew's flying history; GroundCheck shows them as filed, without names or identities.