Bell Helicopter Textron Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Commercial
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Aircraft Equipment Problem Dissipated; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; General Declared Emergency
Aircraft; Weather
During a night time IFR flight in VFR conditions autopilot # 1 stopped working; at the destination hospital deferred and MEL'd the autopilot. Aircraft restricted to VFR only. In cruise flight returning with patient I received weather of 1;300 FT on the AWOS at ZZZ1 and clear at ZZZ2. The weather between the two facilities appeared lower. At 700 AGL the flight became inadvertent IMC. I started a climb; declared an emergency with Approach. Approach gave radar vectors to the ILS 12R at ZZZ1. It appeared no other traffic was around at this hour of the morning. I flew the approach comfortably using the autopilot that was now working but MEL'd. Broke out from the approach and flew VFR to the hospital with out incident. I declared an emergency due to the aircraft was restricted to VFR; and inadvertent IMC. Don't fly the aircraft with a MEL'd autopilot. I don't know what I could have done differently with the weather. All indications were 1;300 FT and clear. Forecast was for 1;500 FT broken. I followed company procedures for deteriorating weather.
BHT-430 pilot inadvertantly entered IMC on a VFR approach and declared an emergency due to the fact that the helicopter was restricted to VFR flight because of an autopilot malfunction. While on an ILS approach coordinated by ATC; pilot broke out into VMC and landed VFR.