Bell 206B N16726

Summary

On 6 February 1996 at about 19:45 local time, a Bell 206B registered N16726, operated by West Coast Helicopters, Inc., was involved in an accident near Barstow, California, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 February 1996 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Barstow, California, United States

Coordinates

34.9692, -116.9905

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N16726

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

West Coast Helicopters, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX96LA194

Nobody was injured.

failure of the pilot to maintain adequate terrain clearance, while maneuvering around a ground vehicle at low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was transporting a producer and a cameraman for the purpose of photographing an automobile on a dry lake bed. According to the pilot, he proceeded to orbit around the forward moving car from an initial altitude between 50 and 100 feet above ground level, with an airspeed between 40 and 50 knots. The orbit was about 1/2 completed and the helicopter was starting to 'come up' behind the car, when the helicopter entered a descent. The pilot was unable to arrest the descent with aft cyclic and full engine power. Subsequently, the helicopter contacted the ground and was damaged. The local wind was reported to be less than 5 knots. Reportedly, there was no mechanical malfunction of the helicopter.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.