Bell 206B N16MV

Summary

On 18 February 2004 at about 19:30 local time, a Bell 206B registered N16MV, operated by U.S. Forestry Services, was involved in an accident near Decatur, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 February 2004 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Decatur, Texas, United States

Coordinates

33.2503, -97.5806

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N16MV

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

U.S. Forestry Services

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Decatur → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW04TA075

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter during liftoff after encountering dynamic rollover. A contributing factor was the rough and uneven terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During lift off from soft uneven terrain, the rear portion of the helicopter's right main skid came in contact with the ground resulting in a dynamic rollover. The pilot reported that the terrain he departed from was "clumpy and lumpy with ruts of grass approximately 1 to 2 feet in height." As he started to lift the helicopter off the ground, he made a slow ascent rate. When the skids were about 1 foot above the ground, he said, "the helicopter stopped for a split second as if something had caught some portion of the right side of the helicopter and the helicopter began a slight lateral roll to the right." The pilot further reported that he recognized the problem too late as he applied full left cyclic and lowered the collective after the helicopter exceeded the critical angle of bank into the low skid to a point where the situation was unrecoverable, and it rolled 90 degrees to the right. No mechanical deficiencies with the engine or airframe were noted. The Rotorcraft Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-21), page11-7, described dynamic rollover as, "the pivoting around a skid or landing gear wheel of a helicopter causing it to reach its critical rollover angle. Beyond this point, main rotor thrust continues the roll and recovery is impossible."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.