Aviation Crash Map

Bell 206B N770GG

8 September 1997 · Napa, California, United States · Minor injuries

Summary

On 8 September 1997 at about 17:06 local time, a Bell 206B registered N770GG was involved in an accident near Napa, California, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 17:06
Classification
Accident
Location
Napa, California, United States
Nearest airport
Napa County Airport (APC)
Coordinates
38.5500, -122.1495
Aircraft
Bell 206B
Registration
N770GG
Category
Helicopter
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
LAX97LA317

People

1 person had minor injuries.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 1 0

Probable cause

Failure of the pilot to perform an adequate preflight, which resulted in him failing to notice and release the tie down chains.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter attempted to taxi to takeoff with the tie down chains still attached, it rolled over and a 3-foot section of the main rotor blades separated and penetrated the side of a building and landed on a desk. The pilot reported that he did not routinely tie the aircraft down at night. Ramp personnel tied the aircraft down the night before due to high winds at the airport. The pilot said that he performed his preflight and did not look down at the skids, nor did he notice the tie down chains.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Bell 206 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
15 Oct 1997 Bell 206-B2
N86TA
Sutton, Alaska, United States - No injuries -
3 Jul 1997 Bell 206B
N49661
New Iberia, Louisiana, United States American Aviation, Inc. Serious injuries -
17 May 1997 Bell 206L-1
N30SG
Orlando, Florida, United States Air Orlando Helicopter, Inc. Serious injuries -
17 Jul 1997 Bell 206L-1
N3892R
Amelia, Louisiana, United States - No injuries -
8 Nov 1997 Bell 206B
N101LF
Forest Grove, Oregon, United States - No injuries -
1 Jun 1997 Bell 206B
N115AL
Intracoastl Cty, Louisiana, United States - Fatal 1

All 1,732 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
24 Aug 1997 Airbus A300 B4-203
N862PA
Los Angeles, California, United States Pan American World Airways, In No injuries -
15 Aug 1997 Bell UH-1H
N205DF
Tahoe City, California, United States Usda / Forest Service Minor injuries -
11 Oct 1997 Cessna 152
N67293
Julian, California, United States Plus One Flyers, Inc. Fatal 1
11 Oct 1997 Schweizer 2-32
N242DB
Warner Springs, California, United States - Fatal 1
12 Oct 1997 Bellanca 7ECA
N11860
Tracy, California, United States - Fatal 1
26 Oct 1997 Extra Flugzeugbau EA-300
N69BW
Castaic, California, United States
no coordinates
- Fatal 2

All 170,864 records in United States