Bell 206 L4 N73AW

Summary

On 2 June 2015 at about 02:48 local time, a Bell 206 L4 registered N73AW, operated by Airwest Helicopters, was involved in an accident near Dewey, Arizona, United States. One person was 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

2 June 2015 at 02:48

Classification

Accident

Location

Dewey, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

34.3100, -112.1200

Aircraft

Bell 206 L4

Registration

N73AW

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1995

Engines

1

Operator

Airwest Helicopters

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grand Canyon → Glendale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

WPR15LA177

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power due to the failure of the No. 2 bearing, which resulted from a fractured separator.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting a cross-country ferry flight. He reported that the engine chip detector caution light briefly illuminated while the helicopter was in cruise flight about 750 ft above ground level. The pilot chose to make a precautionary landing and initiated a descent. During the descent, the detector light illuminated again, followed shortly thereafter by a "loud bang" and the engine losing power. The pilot initiated an autorotation emergency landing. During the landing sequence, the main rotor blades struck the tailboom. Examination of the engine revealed that the No. 2 bearing separator had fractured through both rails at the forward and aft sides of the bearing. The ball bearings were retained in the separator; however, half of them exhibited damage consistent with smearing and material transfer between the raceway and balls, which resulted in the failure of the No. 2 bearing and the subsequent engine power loss.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.