NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN24LA017
Registry · N490AE
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA 206L-4
Year of manufacture
2006 · 17 years old at event
TCDS
H2SW · BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA LTD
Engine
ROLLS-ROYC 250-C30P (650 hp)
Seats / Engines
5 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20060818
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A6101D
Registrant of record
AIR EVAC EMS INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The inflight collision with a bird while in cruise flight.
Factual narrative
The air medical flight departed from a hospital and was enroute to the operator’s base of operation. About 30 minutes after departure, while in cruise flight, at an airspeed of about 109 kts and an altitude of about 1,058 ft above ground level, the helicopter encountered a bird strike with a black vulture (Coragyps atratus). A heavy vibration ensued, and the pilot performed an off-airport landing to a field. The helicopter sustained substantial damage, which was a bent pitch change link for the main rotor system, from the bird strike. There was no mechanical malfunction/failure of the helicopter that would have precluded normal operations. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Animal(s)/bird(s)-Ability to respond/compensate
- — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Animal(s)/bird(s)-Effect on equipment
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2023_CEN24LA017.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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