The NTSB and the Maryland State Police (MSP) disagree about some of the facts behind the fatal crash of an MSP helicopter last fall.

The Safety Board Oct. 27 issued a summary of its findings regarding the midnight Sept. 27, 2008 crash of an Aerospatiale (Eurocopter) SA365N during a nonprecision, localizer approach to Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, D.C. The aircraft was returning from an accident site with three crewmembers and two auto accident patients aboard. All but one of the patients was killed when the helicopter struck trees before slamming into the ground.

According to the board, the accident likely resulted from the single pilot's failure to arrest his descent at the minimum descent altitude probably because he "became preoccupied with looking for the ground, which he could not identify before impact because of the lack of external visual cues." Weather was IMC.

Among factors contributing to the crash, the board said, "were the pilot's limited recent instrument flight experience" and "the lack of adherence to effective risk management procedures" by the MSP.

On those matters, the MSP said it "respectfully, but adamantly, disagrees" with the board. It said the pilot, a 27-year MSP veteran, "exceeded all of the Federal Aviation Administration's training, qualification and recently of experience requirements when he lifted off" that day. In fact, the department said, the 5,200-hour, instrument-qualified pilot met all Part 135 criteria, even though it was a Part 91 operation.

The department went on to say it "strongly believes that the pilot did receive adequate training for the type of circumstances he countered, that he was very proficient in performing non-precision approaches, and that he had received recent and targeted instrument training in a simulated IMC/night/poor weather conditions.

"The vast amount of skill, experience, training, and proficiency possessed by the pilot should not be discounted for the sake of this tragic accident," the MSP stated.

Aerospatiale (Eurocopter) SA365N helicopter photo: Eurocopter