Eurocopter France EC 130 B4 accident near Meadview, Arizona, November 15, 2007
On November 15, 2007 at about 8:20 pm local time, a Eurocopter France EC 130 B4 (helicopter), registered N810MH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Meadview, Arizona (Meadview Airstrip airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The downward flexing of the standing helicopter's main rotor blades and subsequent impact with its tail boom as a result of another helicopter's rotor blade's vortices. .
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 15, 2007 · about 8:20 pm local time
- Place
- Meadview, Arizona · Meadview Airstrip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter France EC 130 B4 · all EC 130 B4s on the register
- Registration
- N810MH · registry record · serial 3949
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he had just landed and was in the process of shutting the engine down when another company helicopter landed at his 2 o'clock position about 40 to 50 feet away. The vortices created by the second helicopter's main rotor blades caused the main rotor blades of the standing helicopter to flex downward before impacting its tailboom, which resulted in substantial damage to the standing helicopter.
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: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,856 hours in all; 1,231 in this make and model; 217 in the last 90 days; 48 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca Arriel 2B1 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Maverick Helicopters, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: LAS Las Vegas NV
- Destination: Meadview AZ
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.25 inHg
- Observation at 6:00 pm from LAS, 47 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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.