An Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) pilot trying to transport a stranded snowmobiler to safety likely encountered heavy snow and near-zero visibility shortly before his Eurocopter AS350 B31 crashed in Talkeetna, Alaska, U.S., the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says.
The March 30, 2013, crash killed the pilot, the DPS state trooper who was serving as a flight observer and the snowmobiler; the helicopter was destroyed by the crash and subsequent fire.
The NTSB identified twin probable causes: the pilot’s continuation of the flight into worsening instrument meteorological conditions, which led to his “spatial disorientation and loss of control,” and the DPS’s “punitive culture and inadequate safety management.”
Contributing factors were the pilot’s “exceptionally high motivation to complete search-and-rescue [SAR] missions, which increased his risk tolerance and adversely affected his decision making,” the NTSB said.
The accident …
