Bell 206L-1 N700TH

Summary

On 20 September 1995 at about 05:38 local time, a Bell 206L-1 registered N700TH, operated by Helistream Inc., was involved in an accident near Irvine, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 September 1995 at 05:38

Classification

Accident

Location

Irvine, California, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Bell 206L-1

Registration

N700TH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Helistream Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Diego → Orange County

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX95FA339

1 person died.

the pilot's intentional VFR flight into IMC conditions and failure to maintain an adequate terrain clearance altitude, and the local controller's improper use of ATC procedure/technique. Factors in the accident were the helicopter's low fuel state and lack of the required equipment for IFR flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was flying the prototype 2-engine Bell 206L1 back to base from a series of demonstration flights. En route he obtained the current destination weather and forecast conditions from Flight Watch. The current weather was given as 800 scattered with 6 miles, and the forecast called for clear conditions until 2300, followed by 800 overcast with 3 miles. As the flight neared the accident site the pilot was over a broken to overcast layer. Calculations showed the helicopter had about 43 minutes of fuel remaining at that point. The pilot contacted the MCAS El Toro air traffic control tower about 10 miles east at 2,000 feet msl. He told the military controller, 'I need to look for a hole', and the controller provided a suggested heading . Shortly thereafter, the pilot inquired 'Is it o.k. to descend here?' The controller stated 'Just fine, descend right there sir.' The pilot asked the controller what his minimum altitude was at this location and was advised to standby. That was the last communication received from the helicopter. The helicopter was certified for instrument flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.