The medical helicopter crash in 2010 that killed three people in Tucson was probably due to a maintenance problem with its engine, a federal report said.
Helicopter pilot Alex Kelley, 61, paramedic Brenda French, 28, and flight nurse Parker Summons, 41, were killed July 28, 2010, when the LifeNet helicopter hit a fence and shed outside a north-side home on North Park Avenue near East Glenn Street.
The helicopter, an American Eurocopter AS 350, was operated by Air Methods Corp. of Colorado. It was traveling from Marana to Douglas on a repositioning flight.
According to the recently released report by the National Transportation Safety Board, the helicopter's engine had just been serviced to fix a problem that caused fuel parts to be coated with carbon deposits, known as "coking."
During those repairs, a maintenance technician likely did not properly tighten the bolts on the fuel inlet union, the report said.
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That probably caused the helicopter's fuel inlet union and fuel injection manifold to become detached, causing the engine to lose power and the helicopter to crash, the report said.
Witnesses said they heard a "whump, whump" sound and then popping noises just before the aircraft crashed. They noted the final descent of the helicopter was "unusually" quiet, the NTSB said.
Also listed as contributing to the crash were:
• The technician's engine work was not adequately inspected by maintenance personnel, the report stated. The technician inspected his own work, the report stated, which was allowed under the circumstances of this repair job.
• A duty pilot at the Marana regional airport who performed a check following the maintenance work did not follow procedures outlined by the helicopter's manufacturer.
engine taken out
In the days before the crash, the helicopter's engine was removed by Air Methods personnel at the Marana airport.
Since replacement of the fuel manifold is considered a higher level of maintenance, Air Methods contracted with Helicopter Services of Nevada to do those repairs, the NTSB report said. Once the Helicopter Services technician finished his work, Air Methods personnel reinstalled the helicopter's engine.
The day before the crash, a duty pilot at the Marana airport conducted a test of the helicopter, which included a 7.5-minute flight. A full maintenance flight check according to the helicopter's manual typically takes about 45 minutes, the report states.
The report is available at
Contact reporter Veronica Cruz at vcruz@azstarnet.com or 573-4224.
