Eurocopter AS 350B incident near Las Vegas, Nevada, February 20, 2004
On February 20, 2004 at about 1:59 am local time, a Eurocopter AS 350B (helicopter), registered N358NT, suffered minor damage in an incident near Las Vegas, Nevada (Mccarran International Airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the tail rotor pitch change lever failed in fatigue due to improper installation by company maintenance personnel.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 20, 2004 · about 1:59 am local time
- Place
- Las Vegas, Nevada · Mccarran International Airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter AS 350B · all AS 350Bs on the register
- Registration
- N358NT · no longer on the register · serial 1016
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The helicopter experienced an in-flight loss of tail rotor control due to the fatigue fracture and failure of the tail rotor pitch change lever (SN MA 3671). The purpose of this part is to translate forward and aft movement from the tail rotor controls to change the pitch of the tail rotor. The operator had removed the component from the helicopter prior to the arrival of Federal Aviation Administration inspectors, and so the condition of the part as installed could not be determined. Following the incident, the operator discovered a crack on an additional lever (SN MA 3010) in their fleet. The Safety Board Materials Laboratory determined that the fatigue cracks in the two levers were not due to material or manufacturing defects, but were caused by improper installation of the component on the tail rotor gear box. Service Bulletin (SB) No. 65.00.42 was issued in response to cracks found in other levers where the cracks were determined to have been caused by improper installation of the tail rotor gear box pitch control lever bolt. The condition of the incident lever and the second one were found to be identical to the prior cases that triggered the issuance of the service bulletin. The tail rotor gearbox assembly had 3,148.5 hours. The lever is an on-condition part, which is inspected during overhaul of the tail rotor gear box. The overhauls are completed at a normal interval of 3,000 hours; the manufacturer allows a tolerance of 10 percent over the recommended overhaul schedule. When the tail rotor gearbox assembly was submitted for overhaul, a tail rotor pitch change lever different from the one involved in the incident was submitted for inspection. There are no tracking requirements on this part and the time and history of the tail rotor pitch change lever involved in the incident could not be determined.
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
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,932 hours in all; 475 in this make and model; 206 in the last 90 days; 71 in the last 30 days; 1,852 as pilot in command; 1,122 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 1, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,426.6 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 18, 2004; 8.8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,630 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca Aeriel 1B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Heli USA INC
The flight
- Departed from: KGCN Grand Canyon AZ at 1:15 am
- Destination: LAS Las Vegas NV
- Runway 1L, 9,765 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 290° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 am from LAS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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.