Agusta A119 incident near Dolan Springs, Arizona, October 20, 2012
On October 20, 2012 at about 5:15 am local time, a 2000 Agusta A119 (helicopter), registered N207CF, suffered minor damage in an incident during standing (engine(s) operating) near Dolan Springs, Arizona. It was an other work-use 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
Insufficient clearance between a truck and the main rotor blades of a helicopter on the ground with the engine running because of the lack of on-scene coordination between the agencies that responded to and were tasked with managing the vehicle accident site.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 20, 2012 · about 5:15 am local time
- Place
- Dolan Springs, Arizona · map
- Type
- Incident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Agusta A119, built 2000
- Registration
- N207CF · no longer on the register · serial 14006
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Other work-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After arriving at the site of the vehicle accident, command post personnel advised the emergency medical services (EMS) flight crew that they did not have a patient for them and that the flight crew was authorized to depart. An EMS crewmember reported that he requested that the vehicle traffic, which had been stopped as a result of the traffic accident, be held until they departed. The on-scene fire department captain, who was in charge of directing the arriving and departing aircraft and had left the area before the helicopter departed, also requested before his departure that ground traffic be held until the helicopter had lifted off. However, on-scene law enforcement personnel who were controlling the traffic stated that they had not received either request. During the helicopter's engine startup, which the operator authorized the pilot to perform whether ground traffic was moving or not, one flight crewmember was positioned outside of the helicopter directing ground traffic around the helicopter's right side. The crewmember subsequently boarded the helicopter, and, shortly after, a truck collided with the tips of the helicopter's main rotor blades, which resulted in significant damage to the truck and minor damage to the helicopter's main rotor blades. If standard traffic incident management procedures had been strictly adhered to by the agencies involved, it is likely that this event would not have occurred.
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
- Ground collision during standing (engine(s) operating) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Other/unknown
- cause Organizational issues › Management › Communication (organizational) › Between groups/organizations › Emergency services
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,700 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: September 20, 2012
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,053 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 18, 2012; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,750 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt And Whitney PT6-37A (turboshaft); 5,071 hours total
- Operator: Tristate Careflight Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: IGM Kingman AZ at 3:00 am
- Destination: IGM Kingman AZ
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 4:51 am from IGM, 43 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.