Bell 206 N484AE

Summary

On 1 August 2011 at about 22:18 local time, a Bell 206 registered N484AE, operated by Air Evac EMS Inc, was involved in an incident near Relience, Tennessee, United States. 4 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 August 2011 at 22:18

Classification

Incident

Location

Relience, Tennessee, United States

Coordinates

35.2333, -84.4542

Aircraft

Bell 206

Registration

N484AE

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Air Evac EMS Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Relience → Chattanooga

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11IA436

Nobody was injured.

Inadvertent contact with wires due to the lack of visual cues regarding their presence and the low angle of the sun, which was directly in the takeoff path.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before landing, the pilot performed a high and low reconnaissance of the area and received a briefing of the obstacles by the landing zone. The crew was advised of wires along the road north of the field and large rolls of hay spaced intermittently across the field. The pilot then landed the helicopter in a field and picked up a patient who had been involved in a motor vehicle accident. Given the weight of the helicopter and power available, the pilot elected to perform an airspeed-over-altitude takeoff on a westerly departure path along the long axis of the landing zone. The departure path was signaled to the landing zone commander, who issued an approval for the takeoff. During the initial takeoff climb, the helicopter struck wires and returned to the field for landing. After the incident, a closer inspection of the takeoff path revealed that a three-strand group of wires crossed the west side of the field perpendicular to the takeoff path. When viewed from the point of departure, the wires appeared to emanate from the thick, tall tree lines that bordered both sides of the landing zone, and were superimposed against a background of dense woods. There were no additional visual cues (poles, towers, or transformers) available that could be associated with the wires. Additionally, at the time of the accident, the sun was directly in the takeoff path and 30 degrees above the horizon. The bright sunlight and glare conditions likely reduced the ability of ground crew and the flight crew to discern wire obstacles.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.