Bell 206B N418SV

Summary

On 25 October 2014 at about 16:40 local time, a Bell 206B registered N418SV, operated by Helix Helicopters, was involved in an accident near West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. 5 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

25 October 2014 at 16:40

Classification

Accident

Location

West Palm Beach, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Wellington Aero Club (FD38)

Coordinates

26.6467, -80.2950

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N418SV

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Helix Helicopters

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Palm Beach → West Palm Beach

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15LA060

Nobody was injured.

A hard landing for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, who was also the owner of the helicopter, reported that, after uneventfully completing a local flight, she observed a crack in the left skid. Further examination by a mechanic revealed additional substantial damage consistent with a hard landing. The pilot and a pilot-rated passenger stated that no hard landings occurred during the local flight. The pilot also reported that, 2 days before the accident, a flight instructor had conducted two instructional flights in the accident helicopter at a different airport. According to the flight instructor and the two pilots receiving instruction on those flights, no hard landings occurred during the two flights, and they observed no damage during the two preflight and postflight inspections. Additionally, following those flights, the pilot repositioned the helicopter back to its home airport and did not notice any damage during the preflight or postflight inspection. The pilot added that the helicopter was not flown between the repositioning flight and the local flight after which the damage was discovered. The investigation could not determine when the damage occurred or who was flying the helicopter when it did.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.