Aviation Crash Map

Bell 206L-1 N773WW

16 April 1985 · Prestonburg, Kentucky, United States · Serious injuries

Summary

On 16 April 1985 at about 19:40 local time, a Bell 206L-1 registered N773WW was involved in an accident near Prestonburg, Kentucky, 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.

The record

Date
at 19:40
Classification
Accident
Location
Prestonburg, Kentucky, United States
Coordinates
37.6699, -82.7592
Aircraft
Bell 206L-1
Registration
N773WW
Category
Helicopter
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Positioning
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
ATL85FA135

People

1 person was seriously injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 1 0 0

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

THE PAX DEPLANED & THE PLT TOOK OFF ON A SHORT FLT TO A NEARBY ARPT TO REFUEL. AFTER CLIMBING FOR ABOUT 30 TO 40 SEC & ACCELERATING TO APRX 100 KTS, THE PLT STARTED TO ADJUST THE PWR FOR LVL FLT. AT ABOUT THAT TIME, THE ENG LOST PWR. THE PLT ATTEMPTED TO RESTORE ENG PWR, BUT WAS UNABLE. HE TURNED TO LAND IN A LARGE FIELD THAT HE HAD JUST OVERFLOWN. DRGAN AUTOROTATION, THE ENG STABILIZED AT IDLE RPM, BUT WOULD NOT RESPOND TO THROTTLE MOVEMENTS. THE PLT SAW POWER LINES IN HIS AUTOROTATION PATH & ELECTED TO CROSS OVER A CREEK & A ROW OF TREES & LAND IN ANOTHER FIELD. HOWEVER, THE HELI- COPTER HAD INSUFFICIENT ALT TO CLEAR THE TREES. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT HIT THE TREES & CRASH LANDED ON A CREEK BANK. AFTER LANDING, THE ENG WAS STILL RUNNING & WAS SHUT DOWN BY USING THE FUEL SHUT-OFF SW. THE AFT FUEL CELL WAS PUNCTURED DRG IMPACT; THEREFORE, THE AMOUNT OF FUEL ON BOARD COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE ENG OPERATED DRG A POST-CRASH CHECK, BUT IMPACT DAMAGE PREVENTED OPERATING IT AT HIGH RPM. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS VERIFIED.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

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All 1,732 records for this type

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All 170,864 records in United States