Bell 206B N9877Z

Summary

On 20 August 2003 at about 00:45 local time, a Bell 206B registered N9877Z was involved in an accident near Mason, Texas, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 August 2003 at 00:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Mason, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.7322, -99.1844

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N9877Z

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burnet → Liberty Hill

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

FTW03LA197

3 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the power line. A contributing factor was the sunglare.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 3,225-hour pilot reported that he was video-filming an automobile driving westbound into the sunset. The pilot further stated that "as we continued down the highway, we came upon the second set of wires before I thought we should have. With the sun in my eyes, I did not see them until maybe a second before we impacted it." The helicopter descended in a slight nose low attitude and impacted the highway, then skidded off the road into a ditch. An examination of the helicopter by an FAA inspector who responded to the accident site revealed that the helicopter caught fire after it came to a stop and was destroyed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.