Bell 206B N804LA

Summary

On 10 August 2013 at about 23:18 local time, a Bell 206B registered N804LA, operated by N M Land LLC, was involved in an accident near Albers, Illinois, United States. 3 people were 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

10 August 2013 at 23:18

Classification

Accident

Location

Albers, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

38.5433, -89.6122

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N804LA

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

N M Land LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Albers → Pevely

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA487

Nobody was injured.

Fuel contamination, which resulted in the loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he performed a preflight inspection of the helicopter and noted no anomalies. Shortly after takeoff, at an altitude of 600 ft above ground level, the pilot initiated a turn, and, halfway through the turn, the engine lost power. The pilot reported that it seemed as though the throttle had rolled back and that he noticed a loss of N2 speed. The engine-out horn sounded, and the engine-out caution light illuminated, so the pilot located a cornfield in which to land, decreased the collective, and performed an autorotation. The helicopter settled into the cornfield and then rolled onto its left side during the landing, which resulted in the tailboom separating from the fuselage. Fuel samples taken from the fueling source and the fuel sump drain did not contain water. However, fuel samples taken from the airframe fuel filter housing contained water. The pilot would not have been able to detect the water in the airframe fuel filter when he checked the fuel sump during the preflight inspection. Maintenance records showed that the airframe fuel filter was changed 2.5 flight hours before the accident; however, it could not be determined how the water was introduced.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.