A March 2023 helicopter crash resulted from low-altitude maneuvering, according to an NTSB final report issued this week. N14Z, a Bell 407 helicopter, crashed near Nuevo, California, resulting in the deaths of both the pilot and a pilot-rated (fixed-wing only) passenger. The helicopter, which was operating under Part 91 rules, was destroyed after striking terrain near the peak of a rocky hilltop.

The NTSB determined the probable cause to be the pilot’s decision to maneuver at a low altitude in a steep bank, which resulted in the failure to maintain clearance from the terrain. No evidence of mechanical failure contributing to the crash was found during the investigation.

A GoPro camera mounted on the aircraft’s right skid recorded the entire nine-minute flight and crash. A second GoPro camera found in the debris had stopped recording before takeoff, according to the NTSB.

The helicopter departed French Valley Airport in Murrieta/Temecula, California, at 12:05 p.m. PDT on March 24 in visual meteorological conditions and headed toward Big Bear, California. During the flight, the helicopter flew at an altitude of approximately 500 to 600 feet agl, according to ADS-B data. Recovered video from the camera showed the rotorcraft making two low-level passes at 50 to 60 feet agl over rugged terrain before the crash. The pilot initiated a steep right turn at low altitude, and the main rotor blade struck the terrain, causing the helicopter to crash.

At 12:17 p.m. local time, the aircraft crashed; an emergency notification was triggered by the pilot’s phone crash alert feature, which notified a relative. The relative, in turn, called emergency services, and first responders located the wreckage less than 30 minutes after the accident. Neither the pilot nor the passenger survived the event.

With a current third-class medical and current flight review, the pilot had approximately 2,190 total flight hours (132 in the Bell 407). A toxicology report showed positive for zolpidem, a drug used to treat insomnia and known under trade names like Ambien, although the NTSB could not determine what effect might be active at the time of the crash.

“Reviewed medical evidence for the pilot and pilot-rated passenger indicated that they both had some risk factors for an impairing or incapacitating cardiovascular event,” the report continued. “Although such an event cannot be excluded by autopsy evidence alone, there was no autopsy evidence that such an event occurred, and the accident circumstances were not consistent with a sudden medical event. Thus, it is unlikely that the pilot’s or pilot-rated passenger’s medical conditions contributed to the accident.”