Bell 206L3 N255EV
29 June 2002 · Gulf of Mexico, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 29 June 2002 at about 15:00 local time, a Bell 206L3 registered N255EV, operated by Evergreen Helicopters International Inc., was involved in an accident near Gulf of Mexico, United States. One person was 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.
The record
- Date
- at 15:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Gulf of Mexico, United States
- Coordinates
- 28.2014, -95.6347
- Aircraft
- Bell 206L3
- Registration
- N255EV
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Evergreen Helicopters International Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Positioning
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Gulf of Mexico → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- FTW02LA200
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain proper rotor RPM during engine shutdown due to high wind conditions, which resulted in the main rotor blades contacting the tailboom. A contributing factor was the gusty wind conditions.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
After landing on the offshore platform, the pilot positioned the helicopter into the prevailing headwind and initiated engine shutdown procedures. The pilot reported that the wind at this time was from the southeast at 15 to 20 knots, and the rain remained about 2 miles southeast of the platform. The pilot further stated that within seconds after shutting down the engine "the wind picked up to 50-60 knots, while the rain was still about 1-2 miles away." The pilot added that he applied the rotor brake after the rotor had slowed to 35-40 percent; however, the rotor brake did not appeared to have any effect in slowing down the rotor system. As the rotor system was buffeted by strong wind, the rotor system became unbalanced and eventually struck the tail boom approximately 2 feet forward of the tail rotor gear box.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Bell 206L3 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 May 2002 | Bell 206L3 | Coca, Ecuador | Icaro S.a. | Minor injuries | - |
| 18 Feb 2002 | Bell 206L3 | Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia | Kenari Air | Unknown | - |
| 29 Apr 2000 | Bell 206L3 | Salt Marsh | - | No injuries | - |
| 23 Jan 2005 | Bell 206L3 | Villarrica, Chile | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 27 May 1997 | Bell 206L3 | Boise, Idaho, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 3 Sep 1994 | Bell 206L3 | Libby, Montana, United States | Felt Field Aviation | Unknown | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Jan 2002 | Robinson R22 | East Troy, Wisconsin, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 13 Mar 2002 | Piper PA-28RT-201T | Marianna, Arkansas, United States | Timothy R. Morris | Fatal | 2 |
| 4 May 2002 | Boeing A75SN1 | Georgetown, Texas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 10 Jul 2002 | Beechcraft 95-B55 | Mesa, Arizona, United States | Charles A. Moran | No injuries | - |
| 24 Sep 2002 | Bellanca 7KCAB | Erwinna, Pennsylvania, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 13 Nov 2002 | Mooney M20R | Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |