Bell 206B N992SM

Summary

On 3 October 1998 at about 23:30 local time, a Bell 206B registered N992SM, operated by Enterprise Aviation, Inc., was involved in an accident near Vernal, Utah, 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

3 October 1998 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Vernal, Utah, United States

Coordinates

40.5506, -109.5699

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N992SM

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Enterprise Aviation, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Steamboat Sprgs → Salt Lake City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN99LA002

Nobody was injured.

Loss of tail rotor effectiveness. A factor was the quartering tailwind.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

THIS CASE WAS MODIFIED DECEMBER 20, 2005. The pilot was attempting to land in a strong quartering tailwind because his passenger had become air sick. He said the helicopter 'was practically in a hover [with] full power applied. . .when a gust of wind from behind hit me just as I was turning into the wind using left pedal. The helicopter weather vaned, I reacted with full right pedal and then the gust either stopped or came from a different direction weather vaning us back to the west where I applied full left pedal. I could feel buffeting in the controls similar to turbulence. The right yaw was so rapid that I entered loss of tail rotor effectiveness.' The helicopter collided with terrain while it was still turning and rolled over. According to the passenger, the pilot had attempted landings earlier in the day but had difficulty with the wind. He succeeded in landing after several attempts.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.