Bell 206B N297CA

Summary

On 24 May 2013 at about 02:00 local time, a Bell 206B registered N297CA, operated by Air-Evac Lifeteam, was involved in an accident near St Louis, Missouri, United States. 2 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

24 May 2013 at 02:00

Classification

Accident

Location

St Louis, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Spirit of St. Louis Airport (KSUS)

Coordinates

38.7511, -90.3714

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N297CA

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Air-Evac Lifeteam

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St Louis → St Louis

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN13LA378

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to the separation of compressor blades, which resulted from fatigue cracking.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that, shortly after he and the pilot-rated student departed on a night training flight in the turbine-powered helicopter, they heard a loud bang, and the helicopter yawed left. The flight instructor chose to perform an autorotation with forward airspeed onto the airport's taxiway. Examination of the turbine engine revealed several holes in the compressor case, consistent with engine blades exiting the engine. Further examination revealed that the stages 3 through 6 compressor blades had separated at the roots. Examination also revealed that the 3rd-stage wheel blade root had fractured due to progressive cracking, consistent with fatigue; 54 percent of the fracture surface exhibited fatigue features. However, the fracture initiation surface was destroyed, so it was not possible to determine the cause of the fatigue failure. Indications of fatigue were also found on the stages 3 through 6 blades' fracture surfaces. The engine's compressor had 13,874 hours time since new (TSN) and the compressor rotor stages 1 through 6 wheels had 1,185.3 hours TSN and were Parts Manufacturer Approval replacement parts.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.