Bell 212 N82W

Summary

On 22 November 2002 at about 17:00 local time, a Bell 212 registered N82W, operated by Weyerhaeuser Co, was involved in an accident near Longview, Washington, 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.

Date

22 November 2002 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Longview, Washington, United States

Coordinates

46.1239, -122.4403

Aircraft

Bell 212

Registration

N82W

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

Weyerhaeuser Co

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Longview → Longview

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA03LA012

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees while landing. A contributing factor was trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the operator, the pilot was landing the helicopter, equipped with a long-line and external fertilizer bucket, at a heliport located approximately 2 miles from the departure point. The operator reported that the pilot made a normal external load approach (from the northeast) and landed the bucket from a hover. After landing the bucket, ground crew personnel directed the pilot to reposition it forward of its present position due to the buckets proximity to a tree stump. After repositioning the bucket to the requested location, the pilot maneuvered the helicopter laterally and started a descent for landing. During the descent, the helicopter's main rotor blades made contact with treetops.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.