Bell 407 accident near Mcallen, Texas, December 25, 2012
On December 25, 2012 at about 1:49 am local time, a Bell 407 (helicopter), registered N489AE, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Mcallen, Texas (Mcallen Medical Center Heli airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance with a parked helicopter during takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 25, 2012 · about 1:49 am local time
- Place
- Mcallen, Texas · Mcallen Medical Center Heli · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 407 NO SERIES · all 407s on the register
- Registration
- N489AE · registry record · serial 54059
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The accident occurred as the air medical flight was departing a hospital heliport en route to pick up a patient. Another helicopter was parked off to the side of the helipad but within the fenced helipad area. Before boarding the departing helicopter, the pilot turned the main rotor blades on the parked helicopter to give him more room to maneuver on takeoff. During takeoff, the pilot was turning the helicopter into the wind and talking to an air traffic controller when he backed the helicopter into the main rotor blades of the parked helicopter. The pilot rolled the throttle to idle and conducted a hover autorotation back onto the helipad. The pilot later reported that he knew the parked helicopter was there but had forgotten about it. The accident helicopter sustained substantial damage to both tail rotor blades and one of the main rotor blades. The pilot was unable to hear the medical crew's warnings over the intercom because the microphone was keyed for the conversation with the air traffic controller. The operator’s general operations manual provides minimum clearance guidelines that state, in part, that minimum clearances for all helicopters will be at least 1/3 of the rotor diameter between the outboard tip of the rotor disc and any obstruction and at a distance great enough not to create a hazard to persons or property on the ground in non-secured areas. These guidelines were most likely met before the accident.
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
What happened, in order
- Collision during takeoff/land during takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › (general) › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Aircraft › Effect on equipment
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,750 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 51 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 2,700 as pilot in command; 1,600 on instruments
- Last flight review: November 13, 2012
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 780 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 3, 2012
- Maximum gross weight: 5,250 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rolls Royce 250-C47B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Evac Ems
The flight
- Departed from: KMFE Mcallen TX at 1:49 am
- Destination: Laredo TX
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 150° at 15 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 2,100 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from MFE, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 3 |
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.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.