The 4,200-hour pilot was practicing solo instrument approaches in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) when he was overwhelmed by more cockpit tasks than he could handle and became disoriented, losing control of the Eurocopter EC135 and crashing in New Castle, Delaware, U.S., the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.
In its final report on the May 25, 2017, accident, the NTSB cited as the probable cause the pilot’s loss of control during a missed approach in IMC “due to spatial disorientation and the cumulative effects of task saturation.”
The crash killed the pilot and destroyed the helicopter — registered to the University of Pennsylvania and operated by Metro Aviation, a provider of emergency medical services and the pilot’s employer.
The flight had originated at 1117 local time at Atlantic City (New Jersey, U.S.) International Airport, and the pilot had filed an instrument flight rules flight plan that called for him to fly to Wilmington, D…
