Bell 206L-1 N1081K
13 August 1983 · Bettles, Alaska, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 13 August 1983 at about 18:35 local time, a Bell 206L-1 registered N1081K was involved in an accident near Bettles, Alaska, United States. 6 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 18:35
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Bettles, Alaska, United States
- Nearest airport
- Bettles (BTT)
- Coordinates
- 67.2399, -152.2705
- Aircraft
- Bell 206L-1
- Registration
- N1081K
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Fairbanks → Bettles
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ANC83FA144
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Probable cause
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
ACCORDING TO THE PLT, THE LOW FUEL WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED WHEN THE FUEL GAGE WAS INDICATING 200 LBS. HE REPORTED HE COULD SEE THE ARPT LIGHTS & ELECTED TO CONTINUE THE FLT. AFTER ARRIVING, HE TERMINATED HIS APCH TO A 30 TO 50 FT HOVER WITH NO FORWARD SPEED. AS HE APPLIED FORWARD CYCLIC TO HOVER TO THE REFUELING AREA, THE ENG FLAMED OUT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE HELICOPTER LANDED HARD & THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES STRUCK THE TAIL BOOM. AN EXAM REVEAL THERE WAS ENOUGH FUEL REMAINING IN THE MAIN CELL FOR APRX 20 MIN OF FLT. DISASSEMBLY OF THE SYS REVEALED THAT DEBRIS (DIRT & ZINC CHROMATE PAINT CHIPS) WAS IN THE FILTERS. THE FILTER SCREEN HAD OPENINGS OF .020 INCH. PARTICLES WERE FOUND IN THE FLOW SWITCHES. HOWEVER, THE CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE FLOW SWITCH PLUNGER & THE WALL OF THE CASING WAS ONLY .012 INCH. EVIDENCE WAS FOUND TO INDICATE THIS RENDERED A FLOW SWICH INOPERATIVE SO THAT FUEL WOULD NOT TRANSFER FROM THE MAIN CELL TO THE REAR CELL WHERE IT COULD BE USED BY THE ENG.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Bell 206 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Oct 1983 | Bell 206L-3 | Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States | Grand Canyon Helicopters | No injuries | - |
| 27 Nov 1983 | Bell 206L-1 | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | Emergency Medical Supplies | No injuries | - |
| 22 Jul 1983 | Bell 206B | Melrose, Montana, United States | Continental Helicopters Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 8 Dec 1983 | Bell 206B III | Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 27 Jan 1983 | Bell 206L-1 | Grand Isle B43Q | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 13 Feb 1983 | Bell 206B | Addison, Texas, United States | Texas PRO Air | No injuries | - |
All 1,732 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Jun 1983 | Cessna 182 | Bettles, Alaska, United States | John Pletting | No injuries | - |
| 19 Jun 1983 | Piper PA-18 | Squaw Lake, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 24 Jun 1983 | Piper PA-18 | Palmer, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 1983 | Piper J-3 | Skwentna, Alaska, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 26 Jun 1983 | Cessna 170 | Fairbanks, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 28 Jun 1983 | Cessna 180 | King Salmon, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |