The fatigue fracture of an Aerospatiale AS 350D power turbine blade caused a loss of engine power that led to the May 24, 2008, fatal crash of an Island Express Helicopters air taxi flight on Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says.
One passenger was killed in the accident, along with the pilot and another Island Express employee; the three other passengers received serious injuries. The helicopter was destroyed.
The accident flight began at 0907 local time, when the helicopter left the Queensway Bay Heliport in Long Beach, California, to transport the four passengers to Two Harbors in Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. After departure from Long Beach, the pilot “reported via radio that they were mid-channel at 0914 and that they were on final to land at 0919,” the NTSB said in the final report on the accident.
Witnesses said that they had seen the helicopter approaching the island from the north at about 300 ft …
