Bell 206B N47122

Summary

On 8 July 1999 at about 20:30 local time, a Bell 206B registered N47122, operated by U.s. Bureau of Land Management, was involved in an accident near Deadhorse, Alaska, United States. 4 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

8 July 1999 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Deadhorse, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

70.4299, -149.2897

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N47122

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

U.s. Bureau of Land Management

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC99TA090

Nobody was injured.

A failure of the pilot-in-command to perform an adequate preflight inspection, and remove a rotor blade tie-down strap.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot for an on-demand helicopter company was beginning a flight that was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) U.S. Government flight by the U.S Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management. The pilot loaded his passengers into the helicopter at a remote biological survey site. He then began an engine start, but a main rotor blade tie-down strap was still attached to one of the rotor blades. As the rotor blades began to turn, the strap struck the upper end of the vertical stabilizer, crushing the leading edge in an aft direction. The helicopter's tail boom was deformed and wrinkled, just forward of the tail rotor gear box.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.