NTSB preliminary report reveals more details on EMS helicopter crash

The NTSB preliminary report offers several details about the helicopter and why it went down, killing all three on board.

Three people--crew members Diana Connor of Florence, Patrick Walters of Murrells Inlet, and Claxton Dove of Bladenboro--died in the crash.

The flight, operated by Omniflight Helicopters, originated from Conway-Horry County Airport on the night of September 25, and was returning from Charleston after dropping off a 10-year-old female patient at MUSC. The girl had been a patient at Georgetown Memorial Hospital, where the helicopter picked her up around 9:07 p.m., according to the report.

The report says after a stop at Charleston International Airport to re-fuel, the crew took off at 11:02 p.m. to head back to Conway.

The report states the flight from Charleston to Conway was supposed to take 45 minutes.
Six miles out of the airport at Mount Pleasant, the helicopter radioed in at 11:09, and ceased contact with the tower in Charleston, the report says.

No other radio contact was made, according to the report, and an accident alert wasn't sent out to local authorities until after 1 a.m.

Last week, The Washington Post reported the NTSB said weather equipment was down at the Georgetown County Airport, and this report confirms that.

According to officials, a lightning strike earlier in September had disabled the weather equipment, and officials at the airport were waiting on repairs.

Jeremy Bass with Huffman Helicopters has flown helicopters for more than 20 years. He says the report shows all of the helicopter's equipment seemed to be working properly.

“All the operational systems, everything appeared to be completely intact...the engine, it appeared to be running, there was no fuel starvation issues. There was plenty of evidence of unburned jet fuel there on the scene, rotational scoring among some of the moving parts of the helicopter. Rotor blades, everything appeared to be completely operational at the time of impact,” said Bass.

Bass says the report shows the main rotor arm, which a previous NTSB report shows was found to be damaged before taking off for a flight in May of 2008, did not play a role in the wreck.

Omniflight says all the necessary parts were repaired when that happened.

NTSB officials say there was damage to both rotors that was consistent with overload. "Examination of the main rotor control system which was made of control linkages between the cyclic control stick, collective pitch lever, and main rotor swashplate revealed, impact damage and multiple fractures of the torque tubes and push-pull tubes that made up the system. The breaks in the system were consistent with overload.”

Bass says that basically means the helicopter was falling from the sky so quickly, it was unable to stop itself from braking, or landing smoothly.

The report also states there was no evidence of an on-board, pre-crash fire, but that a fire after the crash did consume much of the cabin.

Meanwhile, the report tells us that weather reports from the area were not available because the observation station at the Georgetown County Airport where the pilot Patrick Walters was trying to divert to was out of service for about six weeks, but witnesses say there was moderate to heavy rain at the time of the crash.

Bass says based on the report weather may have been a big factor in the wreck.

“Thunderstorms can be very aggressive, very nasty winds at times. Some of these fronts can create incredibly powerful microbursts, downbursts, winds that will shift you up or down, hundreds of feet, left or right, and you have little to no control over it at times,” said Bass.

The report also says the helicopter did not have night-vision equipment or a system to warn the crew of obstacles.

Bass says that equipment most likely would not have made a difference in heavy storms.

He also says the report seems to indicate the pilot, Walters, made no mistakes while operating the helicopter. Bass says Walters was, “One of the best pilots. Everybody knew him personally. He was phenomenal.”

The report also shows the helicopter did not have a night vision imaging system and a terrain avoidance warning system.

Bass says that equipment wouldn't have made a difference in the crash.

The helicopter passed an inspection test eight days before the crash happened, according to the NTSB report.

To read the entire preliminary report, click here.