Eurocopter Deutschland Gmbh MBB-BK 117 C-2 — registry & accident history
Compiled from FAA & NTSB records · as of Jul 23, 2026
There are 159 Eurocopter Deutschland Gmbh MBB-BK 117 C-2 airframes on record (built 2001–2013), 109 currently registered. 10 have one or more NTSB accident records (10 records total, 1 with a fatal highest-injury classification). Data as of Jul 23, 2026.
Recent Eurocopter Deutschland Gmbh MBB-BK 117 C-2 accidents
The failure of maintenance personnel to properly install the tail rotor pitch change slider attachment hardware (T-bolt), which led to the disconnection of the pitch change slider, a loss of tail rotor control, and subsequent hard landing. Contributing to the accident was maintenance personnel’s failure to complete a maintenance discrepancy entry on the work order for the removal of the T-bolt.
The pilot’s misalignment of the helicopter skids while landing on a dolly at night, which resulted in the skids becoming entangled with the dolly and a loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s fatigue as a result of the time the accident occurred, his total time awake, the multiple flight segments flown, and the operator’s pilot scheduling practice. Also contributing to the accident was the center gap design of the landing dolly.
The entanglement of construction fencing into the main rotor system, which necessitated a forced landing that resulted in substantial damage to the helicopter.
A failure of the rear bearing in the No. 2 engine, which (1) created multiple and likely unexpected and confusing cockpit indications, resulting in the pilot's improper diagnosis and subsequent erroneous shutdown of the No. 1 engine, and (2) the resulting degraded the performance of the No. 2 engine, until it ultimately lost power. The complete loss of engine power likely occurred at an altitude and/or airspeed that was too low for the pilot to execute a successful emergency autorotative landing.
The gas generator rear bearing oil scavenge line blocked with coke, which resulted in a failed rear bearing due to an excess of oil lubrication. Contributing to the incident was the operator not completely performing the maintenance items and not utilizing an oil for higher temperatures.
The pilot’s decision to conduct a straight-in approach to the helipad, which resulted in the main rotor blade impacting a construction crane flag marker. Contributing to the accident was the erroneous information about the construction crane’s operation time and the pilot’s self-induced time pressure, which resulted from his awareness of the patient’s medical situation during the flight.
The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, which failed to detect the unsecured cowling latches and resulted in the in-flight opening of an engine cowling.
The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection of the engine cowling latches prior the flight, which resulted in the cowling door opening in-flight and striking the main rotor blades.