Eurocopter AS-350B2 accident near Girdwood, Alaska, November 11, 2000
On November 11, 2000 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Eurocopter AS-350B2 (helicopter), registered N216EH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Girdwood, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance from terrain. A factor in the accident was flat light conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 11, 2000 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Girdwood, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter AS-350B2 · all AS-350B2s on the register
- Registration
- N216EH · registry record · serial 3184
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport certificated pilot was maneuvering a helicopter over snow-covered terrain along a mountain ridge while conducting a photo flight. The end of the ridge line was in a shadow. While flying in the area of shadow, the pilot began to lose depth perception, and he added engine power to move away from the ridge. The left landing gear skid tube made contact with snow on the ridge, and the pilot felt a vibration. He landed on lower terrain and shut down the helicopter. A subsequent inspection of the helicopter disclosed internal damage to the tail rotor spars, and a torsional twist in the tail rotor drive shaft.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,940 hours in all; 298 in this make and model; 97 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 5,394 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,096 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 2, 2000; 8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,961 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL 101 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AQY Girdwood AK at 3:15 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC01LA020.