Bell 206L4 N8094L

Summary

On 18 June 1998 at about 20:15 local time, a Bell 206L4 registered N8094L was involved in an accident near Hurst, Texas, United States. 2 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

18 June 1998 at 20:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Hurst, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Bell Helicopter Training (NONE)

Coordinates

32.8296, -97.1696

Aircraft

Bell 206L4

Registration

N8094L

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98LA274

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's failure to maintain control of the helicopter while attempting to increase the engine RPM while hovering. Factors were the prevailing high winds and the instructor's diverted attention.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor lost control of the helicopter while demonstrating the technique for recovering from a loss of tail rotor effectiveness while hovering over a helipad. After assuming the controls for the demonstration, the instructor noticed that the RPM was set too low, at 99 percent. The instructor elected to 'beep up' the RPM by stabilizing the cyclic with his left hand and 'beeping' the RPM with the right thumb. He was unsuccessful in beeping the RPM up on 2 attempts. On his last attempt, while manipulating the cyclic lever with his left hand and the RPM switch with the thumb of his right hand, and keeping his eyes on the engine tachometer, the helicopter assumed a nose high attitude while drifting backwards. The flight instructor was not able to recover the helicopter in time to avoid impact with the ground. The winds at the time of the accidents were reported from the south at 27 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.