Bell 206B N206CH

Summary

On 10 October 2008 at about 17:30 local time, a Bell 206B registered N206CH, operated by Northwest Helicopters, was involved in an accident near Cougar, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 October 2008 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Cougar, Washington, United States

Coordinates

46.0422, -122.4197

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N206CH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Northwest Helicopters

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

External Load

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Olympia → Cougar

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09LA010

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance between his external load and trees while maneuvering. Contributing to the accident were hilly terrain and trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Soon after the helicopter lifted an external load of tree branches and began to fly an uphill route to the central collection point, the long-line became tangled in the trees below the flightpath. As the pilot attempted to continue up the hill toward a landing site, the helicopter's low-rotor rpm horn sounded, and soon thereafter its nose pitched down, and it impacted the ground near the bottom of a steep ravine. Although the long-line was not attached to the helicopter when it crashed, its proximity to the accident site indicated that it was released shortly before the impact. Neither the on-site or the follow-up inspection of the helicopter revealed any evidence of an anomaly in the airframe, engine, or flight control system.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.