Bell 222 N213ML

Summary

On 4 October 1998 at about 22:55 local time, a Bell 222 registered N213ML was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. 4 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 October 1998 at 22:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Coordinates

36.2490, -115.0399

Aircraft

Bell 222

Registration

N213ML

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX99FA003

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to ensure that both throttles were in the takeoff position. Factors were the pilot's decision to takeoff with a tailwind, and his lack of recurrent emergency procedure training in this helicopter.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was departing from a confined area surrounded by tall obstacles from 50 to 60 feet in height. The direction the helicopter faced put the prevailing winds from the rear quadrants. Witnesses saw the helicopter liftoff to the north, barely missing nearby palm trees. The eyewitnesses said the helicopter was hovering erratically, and that the tail of the helicopter was moving side to side, as if the pilot was fighting the wind. The helicopter did not climb above the height of the three-story administration building. The helicopter bounced landed, bounced, rolled over, and came to rest on its left side. The left engine throttle was found rolled to the full on position, while the right engine throttle was less than the full on position. Postaccident tests of both engines revealed no abnormalities with their performance. An attempt was made to duplicate the takeoff conditions using a 222 simulator, with a throttle split and tailwind condition set up in the simulator. In two of the scenarios the pilot was unable to successfully fly out of the condition and crashed with a high rate of descent. The pilot's training records indicated that he had not attended a proficiency or emergency procedure course in the Bell 222. All previous training flights were conducted in a Bell 206. Each engine was calculated to be capable of producing 494 SHP. An engineering analysis concluded that in a single engine situation, insufficient power would be available to hover; with the power output of one engine reduced, out-of-ground-effect hover capability was not available.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.