Air Ambulance Bell 407 Pitch Links & Swashplate Drive Arm Bent in Double Bird Strike

Air Ambulance B407 Pitch Links & Swashplate Drive Arm Bent in Double Bird Strike (Med-Trans Corp N910GX)

On the afternoon of 29 March 2024 Bell 407 air ambulance helicopter N910GX, operated by Med-Trans Corp, suffered a bird strike near Moran, Kansas.

The pilot reported that the aircraft was in the cruise en route to a casualty.  Due to “strong gusty winds” the pilot “elected to transit to the scene location at approximately 2500 feet MSL and 130 KIAS ” when…

…the aircraft encountered a small flock of 3 birds near Moran, Kansas.

The pilot had been crossing check instruments and when continuing outside visual scan, he spotted the birds and attempted to briefly maneuver to avoid contact. This attempt was unsuccessful as the late spotting of the birds did not allow further maneuvers.

Subsequently, there were two loud noticeable impacts to the aircraft. Following the impacts, the aircraft began to hop vertically and aircraft controllability was in question.

The pilot found the helicopter was still controllable but as the amount of damage was unknown…

…the pilot began to turn into the wind to find a suitable emergency landing site as he was unsure how long the aircraft would remain controllable.

An open pasture was selected as an emergency landing site. The pilot proceeded to land (trying to maintain an autorotational profile during most of the descent) and shutdown the aircraft without further issues.

There were no injuries to the four occupants.

The pilot and medical crew began to look over the aircraft for any noticeable damage. Initially, they could see a bent pitch change link on the rotorhead as well as a bird wing lodged in the upper wire strike prevent system.

Upon further inspection, the swashplate drive link was bent as well near the bent pitch change link.

The upper left corner of the pilot’s windscreen was also cracked.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) safety investigation report, issued on 18 July 2024 added nothing further, nor was the bird debris identified.

Just a few weeks earlier, on 5 March 2024, Airbus AS350B3e (H125) N853MB of Med-Trans Corp, suffered a double bird strike near its destination at Fort Morgan, Colorado, that we previously discussed.  In that case the windscreen was penetrated, the pilot’s visors shattered and helmet knocked off.

Safety Resources

The European Safety Promotion Network Rotorcraft (ESPN-R) has a helicopter safety discussion group on LinkedIn.  You may also find these Aerossurance articles of interest:


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