Bell 206B N1212N

Summary

On 25 June 2005 at about 17:02 local time, a Bell 206B registered N1212N, operated by Helicopters Inc., was involved in an accident near Cleveland, Ohio, 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 June 2005 at 17:02

Classification

Accident

Location

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL)

Coordinates

41.5175, -81.7333

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N1212N

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Helicopters Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cleveland → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD05LA084

Nobody was injured.

A failure of the main drive shaft for undetermined reasons, which resulted in a total loss of engine power. A factor was pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was hovering the helicopter above an airport at 5,000 feet msl, when he heard a loud "bang." Witnesses on the ground also reported hearing the "bang," and a puff of white smoke was also observed. The helicopter yawed in a nose right direction, and pitched nose down. The pilot regained control of the helicopter about 1,500 feet msl, and subsequently performed an autorotation to a runway. The helicopter landed "hard," and the main rotor contacted the tail boom, separating it from the helicopter. Inspections of the helicopter following the accident revealed that the isolation mount had separated from the transmission and that the main drive shaft had separated. Examination of the main drive shaft, and its associated couplings, revealed failures consistent with an excessive angular displacement between the rotational axis of the drive shaft and the couplings. Examination of the helicopter's transmission compartment revealed damage to the structure around the main drive shaft and grease spray consistent with rotation prior to its failure. In addition, small pieces of metal and metallic dust were identified at the very front of the transmission deck.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.