Bell 212HP N362EH

Summary

On 25 May 2004 at about 03:30 local time, a Bell 212HP registered N362EH, operated by United States Forest Service, was involved in an accident near Chester, California, 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

25 May 2004 at 03:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Chester, California, United States

Nearest airport

Chester Fire Base

Coordinates

40.3064, -121.2308

Aircraft

Bell 212HP

Registration

N362EH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

United States Forest Service

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chester → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

LAX04TA264

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's excessive use of the cyclic and collective controls in response to the helicopter's unexpected rocking motion, which led to a main rotor contact with the upper wire cutter mounted on the cabin roof. A factor in the accident was the rough, sloping nature of the landing zone chosen for the firebase.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter's main rotor blade made contact with the upper wire cutter device during an attempted landing on a sloped landing zone. Upon arriving at the landing zone, the pilot selected an area to land clear from other aircraft and began the descent toward rough terrain with a slope of about 8 to 9 degrees. As the helicopter settled onto the skids, the nose pitched upward and the helicopter slid backward. The pilot quickly increased the collective and moved the cyclic forward in an effort to reestablish the hover. The helicopter began to stabilize in the hover and the pilot felt a shudder and heard a corresponding thump sound. The pilot landed in a different area and noted that it appeared that a portion of the skid had dug into the terrain. A main rotor blade had impacted the upper wire cutter device, leaving the blade damaged beyond repair. The owner reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.