By Jim Timm 
February 2016
The following are the NTSB reports of aviation accidents that have occurred in Arizona from late December, 2015, thru late January, 2016. We will use this detailed accident information in the coming year to develop safety programs and briefings that will help pilots learn from the mistakes being made by others and then take the action necessary to prevent similar accidents from happening to them. Based on the most recent reports, I hope we can get the pilots to continue flying carefully in 2016, generally as they did in 2015. Again, while most of the reported accidents were not too serious, I hope we can continue, and have a safe 2016 flying year.
Because this report was prepared so close to the end of the year, all the NTSB data for 2015 was not yet available for the preparation of an accurate year end summary. A year end accident summary will be available next month.
From a flight safety standpoint, this reporting period was not as good as it could have been, but fortunately, only one accident was reported and the details are contained in this report.
Previously missing information and NTSB findings on accidents that had occurred in October, November and December has finally been made available. The accident details and the NTSB determination of probable cause of these accidents are appended to the end of this report.
Based on information available when this summary was prepared, the accidents this reporting period are as follows:
Accident Date: Saturday, December 26, 2015
Report Dated 1/11/16
Title 14 CFR Part 91
Location: Nogales
Aircraft Type: Aerostar M20F (Mooney)
Injuries: 4 Serious
CONTROLLED FLIGHT INTO TERRAIN
On December 26, 2015, about 1340 MST, an Aerostar Aircraft Corporation of Texas, M20F airplane impacted hilly terrain about 10 miles from the Nogales International Airport (OLS) shortly after takeoff. The private pilot/owner was operating the airplane as a personal cross-country flight. The student pilot, instructor, and two passengers received serious injuries. The airplane sustained structural damage.
According to responding law enforcement, the airplane collided with a hillside before coming to rest upright a short distance from the first identified point of impact (FIPI). One of the landing gear had separated and came to rest near the FIPI, and the engine separated from the firewall, but remained in its relative normal position at the front of the airplane.
Reported weather from OLS at 1354 was wind from 320 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 26 knots; clear skies; 10 statute miles visibility; temperature 06 degrees Celsius; dew point -13 degrees Celsius; altimeter setting 29.86 inches of mercury.
Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, and no flight plan had been filed.
THE FOLLOWING FOURACCIDENTS WERE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED DEVOID OF ACCIDENT INFORMATION. IN THIS REPORTING PERIOD, THE FOLLOWING ACCIDENT DETAILS HAVE BECOME AVAILABLE.
Accident Date: Sunday October 4, 2015
Report Dated 12/23/2015
Title 14 CFR Part 91
Location: Marble Canyon
Aircraft Type: Super Bushmaster (Canadian Registry)
Injuries: 1 Minor, 1 Uninjured
LOSS OF CONTROL LANDING
According to the visiting foreign pilot's written statement, while on approach to land at a desert airport, he encountered severe turbulence, was unable to maintain altitude, and the airplane impacted the ground 50 feet short of the runway. The nearest weather reporting station was 12 NM to the north-east, and reported that the wind was 150 degrees true at 13 knots, with gusts to 19. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage and empennage.The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operation.
Accident Date: Monday October 12, 2015
Report Dated 12/23/2015
Title 14 CFR Part 91
Location: Marana
Aircraft Type: Beechcraft F33
Injuries: 3 Uninjured
LOSS OF CONTROL LANDING
According to the flight instructor, during the turn from base to the final, the stall warning horn sounded and the aircraft descent rate increased. The flight instructor reported that he told the student pilot to go-around, and the student increased the power, but the airplane continued to descend and touched down on the runway briefly. He reported that the student then tried to "pull" the airplane off of the runway and either failed to apply sufficient right rudder, or accidentally applied left rudder, and the airplane abruptly yawed to the left. The flight instructor reported that he immediately took control of the airplane which exited the runway to the left.
The flight instructor recounted that the airplane continued accelerating a few feet off of the ground. He reported that the airplane's left main landing gear struck the ground, and the "left wing tip must have scraped" the ground at that instant. He reported that he regained control of the airplane, initiated a climb, and executed a go-around. The flight instructor contacted the pilot of an airplane that was holding short of the runway and asked the pilot to look at the landing gear as he made a low pass. The pilot on the ground confirmed that the landing gear was intact. The flight instructor landed the airplane and contacted the operator. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left aileron. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical failures or anomalies prior to or during the flight that would have prevented normal operation.
Accident Date: Monday November 2, 2015
Report Dated 12/23/2015
Title 14 CFR Part 91
Location: Douglas Bisbee
Aircraft Type: Cessna 182
Injuries: 1 Uninjured
LOSS OF CONTROL TAKING OFF
The student pilot reported that he was performing a touch and go and his landing was "normal." As he applied power for takeoff, the airplane veered to the left and he responded by applying right rudder. The airplane continued to the left, departed the runway, and collided with a bush which caused the left main landing gear to collapse. The fuselage and left elevator sustained substantial damage. The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Accident Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Report Dated 1/4/16
Title 14 CFR Part 135
Location: Superior
Aircraft Type: Airbus Helicopters AS350-B3
Injuries: 2 Fatal, 1 Serious
CONTROLLED FLIGHT INTO TERRAIN
On December 15, 2015, about 1723 MST, an Airbus helicopter, AS350B3 was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain while maneuvering near Superior. The commercial pilot and flight nurse sustained fatal injuries, and the flight paramedic sustained serious injuries. The cross-country positioning flight originated from the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IWA), Mesa, Arizona, at 1705 with an intended destination of Globe, Arizona.
According to the operator, the air ambulance helicopter had transported a patient from the Cobre Valley Community Hospital, Globe, to the Baywood Heart Hospital in Mesa. The flight originated from their base in Globe, with a planned return to their base at the conclusion of the operation. After transporting the patient, the helicopter was repositioned to IWA for refueling. It subsequently departed IWA for the return flight to its base in Globe. The flight was being tracked by satellite at the company's national communication center, AIRCOM, in Omaha, Nebraska. The company's operations control center (OCC), located in Denver, Colorado, was monitoring the flight on their Flight Management System. At 1723 MST, satellite tracking of the helicopter was lost. AIRCOM notified the OCC and a search was conducted by a company aircraft. The wreckage was located as a result of an aerial search at about 2054.
Examination of the accident site revealed that the helicopter impacted mountainous terrain about 10 miles north-northwest of Superior. All major structural components of the helicopter were located within the wreckage debris path, which was about 380 feet in length, and oriented on a heading of about 200 degrees magnetic.
Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed for the flight.