Aerospatiale AS 365 N-2 accident near Santa Fe, New Mexico, December 27, 2003
On December 27, 2003 at about 10:45 pm local time, a Aerospatiale AS 365 N-2 (helicopter), registered N291LL, was destroyed in an accident near Santa Fe, New Mexico (Santa Fe Municipal airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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 lateral clearance from the hangar. A contributing factor was the gusty crosswind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 27, 2003 · about 10:45 pm local time
- Place
- Santa Fe, New Mexico · Santa Fe Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale AS 365 N-2 · all AS 365 N-2s on the register
- Registration
- N291LL · no longer on the register · serial 6402
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The wind was from "270 degrees at 16 knots with gusts unknown" when the pilot landed on the runway. He then ground taxied towards a maintenance hangar. He described his ground taxi speed as "a fast walk pace." As the helicopter passed between two sets of hangars, "high velocity winds from the left (270 degrees)...lifted the left wheel off the ground." He applied left cyclic control and left tail rotor control that brought the helicopter off centerline to the left. He maneuvered the helicopter and focused on the same corner of the hangar "as I always did" when parking. "As soon as I was starting to use right pedal, the [main rotor] blades impacted the hangar door," and the "torque of the blades pulled the aircraft nose around into the hangar door, causing [the helicopter] to land on its left side."
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,400 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 4,000 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 19, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,635 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 27, 2003; 48 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,370 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Turbomeca Arriel 1C2 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Aerowest Helicopters, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Santa Fe NM at 10:30 pm
- Destination: SAF Santa Fe MA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,200 ft
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 12°F (-11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from SAF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
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.