Bell 206B N3U

Summary

On 10 October 1984 at about 17:22 local time, a Bell 206B registered N3U, operated by UCO Air, was involved in an accident near Riverside, California, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

10 October 1984 at 17:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Riverside, California, United States

Coordinates

33.8992, -117.3997

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N3U

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

UCO Air

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fullerton → Big Bear City

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX85MA012

3 people died.

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

THE ACFT DEPARTED FULLERTON, CA (ELEV 96') AT O958 PDT ON A FLT TO BIG BEAR, CA (ELEV 6750'). THERE WAS NO RECORD OF THE PLT OBTAINING A WX BRIEFING. AT APRX 1015, A WITNESS HEARD THE HELICOPTER CIRCLING ABOVE THE BOTTOM OF 'AN EARLY MORNING FOG HANGING OVER THE GROUND AT APRX 300 FT.' AFTER CIRCLING ABOUT 3 TO 5 MIN, THE HELICOPTER BEGAN TO FLY SOUTH WHEN IT SUDDENLY WAS OBSERVED FLYING OUT OF THE FOG AT A STEEP ANGLE TOWARD THE GROUND. IT WAS ANGLED NOSE DOWN WITH A SLIGHT ROLL TO THE LEFT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE HELICOPTER CRASHED IN A TAIL LOW, LEFT BANK ATTITUDE. THE ENG WAS REPORTED TO BE OPERATING AT A HI POWER SETTING UNTIL THE HELICPOTER CRASHED & BURNED. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF LOW ROTOR RPM, THAT THE CYCLIC CONTROL WAS FULL AFT & THAT THE COLLECTIVE WAS FULL DOWN AT IMPACT. APRX 4 MI EAST, THE 1019 WX WAS, IN PART: SKY PARTIALLY OBSCURED, 1000' OVERCAST, VISIBILITY 3/4 MI WITH FOG.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.