"The fact that the Airborne Law Enforcement
Accreditation Commission implemented all of the NTSB's
recommendations in just six months is to be highly
commended," Hersman said. On June 9, 2009,
about 2135 mountain daylight time, an Agusta S.p.A.
A-109E helicopter, N606SP, crashed following visual
flight rules flight into instrument meteorological
conditions near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The commercial
pilot and one passenger were killed, a highway patrol
officer who was acting as a spotter during the accident
flight was seriously injured.
The entire aircraft was substantially damaged. The
helicopter was registered to the New Mexico Department
of Public Safety and operated by the New Mexico State
Police (NMSP) on a public search and rescue. The
helicopter departed its home base at Santa Fe Municipal
Airport, Santa Fe, New Mexico, in visual meteorological
conditions, instrument meteorological conditions
prevailed when the helicopter departed the remote
landing site about 2132.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the
probable cause of this accident to be: - The pilot's
decision to take off from a remote, mountainous landing
site in dark (moonless) night, windy, instrument
meteorological conditions. Contributing to the accident
were an organizational culture that prioritized mission
execution over aviation safety and the pilot's fatigue,
self-imposed pressure to conduct the flight, and
situational stress. Also contributing to the accident
were deficiencies in the NMSP aviation section's
safety-related policies, including lack of a requirement
for a risk assessment at any point during the mission;
inadequate pilot staffing; lack of an effective fatigue
management program for pilots; and inadequate procedures
and equipment to ensure effective communication between
airborne and ground personnel during search and rescue
missions.
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