Bell 206B N5002X

Summary

On 20 May 1982 at about 15:30 local time, a Bell 206B registered N5002X, operated by Imperial Intn'l, was involved in an accident near Gate City, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

20 May 1982 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Gate City, Virginia, United States

Coordinates

36.6301, -82.5809

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N5002X

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Imperial Intn'l

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gate City → Gate City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL82FIJ03

1 person was seriously injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THIS WAS AN EXTERNAL LOAD OPERATION TO MOVE SEISMOGRAPHIC OIL EXPLORATION EQUIPMENT. THE PILOT FLEW TO THE LOADING ZONE WITH A 150 FT CABLE AND AN ALUMINUM BUCKET. AFTER ARRIVING, HE LOWERED THE BUCKET AND HOVERED WHILE THE BUCKET WAS LOADED. THE PILOT THEN LIFTED THE LOADED BUCKET TO ABOUT 40 FT AGL. AT ABOUT THAT TIME, HE TRANSMITTED THAT HE HAD A PROBLEM AND HAD TO SIT THE HELICOPTTER DOWN. THE BUCKET CAME DOWN HARD ABOUT 10 FT FROM ITS PICKUP POINT AND THE HELICOPTER MOVED TO A CLEAR AREA. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE HELICOPTER HIT THE TOP OF A TREE, THEN CRASH INTO THE GROUND ABOUT 90 FT FROM THE TREE. THE ALUMINUM BUCKET HAD BEEN DRAGGED ABOUT 200 FT BEFORE IT CAME TO REST AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TREE. THE CABLE WAS DRAPED ACROSS THE TREE AND THE RIGHT SKID BUT WAS FOUND RELEASED. AN EXAMINATION REVEALED NO PRECRASH MALFUNCTION OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS AND NO MECHANICAL FAILURE OF THE ENGINE WAS VERIFIED.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.