NTSB Factual Report

On September 20, 2003, about 2103 central daylight time, a Bell 206L-1 helicopter, N74AE, operated by Air Evac EMS, Inc., sustained substantial damage during a hard landing in a gravel lot near Shoals, Indiana. The air medical flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The commercial pilot, flight nurse, and flight medic were uninjured. The flight originated from Daviess County Airport, near Washington, Indiana, at 2044, and was landing at Shoals, Indiana at the time of the accident.

The pilot stated:

The landing area was a gravel parking lot. It was

discovered later that the landing area was adjacent to

a gypsum processing facility. At approximately 10

feet above the ground, while on approach, I noticed

some dust blowing. This seemed normal for a gravel lot,

so I continued the approach. At approximately five to

seven feet above the ground, the dust situation

compounded itself and I lost all visual reference. I

held what I had on the controls and let the aircraft

settle to the ground. The aircraft contacted the ground

in a level attitude and slid approximately 5 feet forward.

The aircraft landed slightly harder than normal. As a

precaution, I shut the aircraft down to inspect for

damage with a flashlight. No damage was found. I had

the fire department hose down the area to control dust.

The patient was transferred to Kosair Childrens in

Louisville, KY. The aircraft was then repositioned to

KJVY (Clark County, IN) for fuel and returned to base,

all without incident.

The pilot said that the left rear skid attachment point was pushed into the helicopter's skin. He said, "At the time of landing, no damage was observed after inspection with flashlight. Damage was found after subsequent flight by another pilot."

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot not maintaining a proper descent rate during the touchdown once visual reference was reduced by the dust in the rotor downwash. Factors were the dusty gravel landing area and the pilot's visual lookout not being possible due to the dust the rotor downwash raised.