Airbus Helicopters EC 130 T2 accident near Moab, Utah, February 13, 2025
On February 13, 2025 at about 5:50 pm local time, a 2023 Airbus Helicopters EC 130 T2, registered N3WL, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Moab, Utah (Canyonlands Regional Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 inflight collision with debris during takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 13, 2025 · about 5:50 pm local time
- Place
- Moab, Utah · Canyonlands Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airbus Helicopters EC 130 T2, built 2023 · all EC 130 T2s on the register
- Registration
- N3WL · registry record · serial 9505
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that shortly after he lifted off from a helipad, a window dislodged from a nearby hangar door and impacted the helicopter’s main rotor blade from behind, which in a loss of lift and an excessive vibration. The pilot initiated an emergency landing and subsequently landed hard. One of the main rotor blades was substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Hard landing during landing
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor › Main rotor system › Main rotor blade system › Damaged/degraded
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Debris/dirt/foreign object › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,360 hours in all; 1,861 in this make and model; 76 in the last 90 days; 28 in the last 30 days; 2,118 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 16, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 479 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 30, 2025; 19 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,512 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca Arriel 2D (turboshaft); 479 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 7 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point -2°F (-19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.07 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from KCNY, 1 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KCNY 130553Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR M08/M22 A2996 RMK AO2 SLP180 T10831222 10006 21100 51025=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
4 documents, released by the NTSB on May 9, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photo Array-pilot | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Photo Array-faa | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Email-manufacturer Damage Assessment | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number WPR25LA093.