Bell 206L-3 N937S

Summary

On 18 April 2000 at about 16:21 local time, a Bell 206L-3 registered N937S was involved in an accident near Lakewood, Colorado, 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 April 2000 at 16:21

Classification

Accident

Location

Lakewood, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

39.7410, -105.0705

Aircraft

Bell 206L-3

Registration

N937S

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kremmling → Englewood

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN00FA074

Nobody was injured.

The complete loss of the tail rotor blades due to a fatigue failure of one blade. Factors were sloping and rough uneven terrain for the ensuing forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During initial descent at the completion of a cross-country flight, the pilot heard a loud bang from the rear of the helicopter and manipulation of the tail rotor control became ineffective. The pilot performed an autorotation to a landing in a field, which sloped up about 6 degrees and was rough and uneven. During landing with about 5 knots forward speed, the lower wire cutter dug into the ground and the skids collapsed twisting the cross tubes aft. The main rotor blades were not damaged and the tail booms buckled downward at the forward attach point. The pilot performed a normal shut down and he and his passenger exited the helicopter with no injuries. Examination of the helicopter following the event revealed that both tail rotor blades had separated approximately 9 inches outboard of the hub. Laboratory tests revealed that one tail rotor blade failed from fatigue. The fatigue origin occurred at the protective strip trailing edge inboard of the outboard tip of the blade doubler. Inspection at the origin revealed the fatigue was a result of chemical machining/etching that took place during the manufacturing process.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.