Bell 206A N949FM

Summary

On 23 July 2014 at about 21:18 local time, a Bell 206A registered N949FM, operated by Applebee Aviation, was involved in an accident near Wenatchee, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 July 2014 at 21:18

Classification

Accident

Location

Wenatchee, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.6228, -120.4239

Aircraft

Bell 206A

Registration

N949FM

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1967

Engines

1

Operator

Applebee Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wenatchee → Wenatchee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR14FA310

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain a proper decent rate and path, which resulted in a hard landing and dynamic rollover. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairment by a sedating medication.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was drying cherry trees, which called for low-level flying in the helicopter. The landing area was slightly uphill with the ground tilted slightly to the right. Although the pilot had taken off and landed in that location at least once earlier in the day, wreckage documentation and ground scars revealed that, during the accident landing, the helicopter landed hard enough and with sufficient lateral motion to cause a dynamic rollover. No witnesses visually observed the accident; however, one witness heard the helicopter, followed by a thud and then silence. This witness responded to the accident and observed the helicopter on its side and smoking. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.  Results of toxicology testing for the pilot detected therapeutic levels of tramadol, which is not known to undergo significant postmortem redistribution. Therefore, the identified levels likely represented his antemortem level of tramadol. Although with regular use people can develop a tolerance to the impairing effects of opioids, in this case, the pilot was engaging in a high workload and high risk portion of flight, and even a small level of impairment could have contributed to his inability to safely land the helicopter. The Federal Aviation Administration recommends that pilots using sedating medications on an occasional basis wait five maximum dosing intervals before flight. For tramadol that computes to waiting 40 hours (8 hours x 5) before flying; this pilot's therapeutic level suggests that he did not follow this recommendation. The pilot's impairment by tramadol likely contributed to the accident.  

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.