Bell 206L-3 N210MH

Summary

On 20 May 2015 at about 14:30 local time, a Bell 206L-3 registered N210MH, operated by New York Helicopter, was involved in an accident near Kearny, New Jersey, 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

20 May 2015 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Kearny, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Helo Kearny Heliport (65NJ)

Coordinates

40.7317, -74.1167

Aircraft

Bell 206L-3

Registration

N210MH

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1990

Engines

1

Operator

New York Helicopter

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kearny → New York

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15LA218

Nobody was injured.

The deliberate concealment and reuse of an unairworthy tail rotor driveshaft by unknown personnel, which resulted in an overstress separation at a bonded flange adapter as a result of driveshaft imbalance.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during a 20-ft hover, the helicopter spun right. The pilot made left pedal inputs; however, the helicopter then rotated three times to the right. The pilot decreased the throttle and increased the collective before the helicopter landed hard. Postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed that the No. 5 tail rotor driveshaft tube had separated from its bonded flange adapter, where it had been secured by adhesive. The driveshaft tube had been freshly painted. When some of the paint was removed, hand written markings in red ink reading "X," ".004," and ".024" were noted on the tube. The numbers were on either end of the tube and were likely measured runout values for the shaft, and, because they exceeded the maximum runout requirement of .003 inch, the "X" mark was made to indicate that the tail rotor shaft was unairworthy. However, at some point after the red markings were made, the unairworthy shaft was repainted by unknown personnel, which obscured the markings. It is likely that the driveshaft became imbalanced because it was beyond its runout tolerance, which led to the overstress separation of the tube from the bonded flange adapter. A representative of the current owner reported that the owner had recently purchased the helicopter. About 5 years before the purchase, the helicopter had experienced a hard landing, and it had not been flown during the subsequent 5 years. The current owner received the helicopter with the driveshaft freshly painted. When he inquired about the fresh paint, the previous owner told him that the driveshaft was purchased at auction. The current owner did not receive serviceable tags with the driveshaft but did receive an auction invoice; however, no serial numbers were listed on the invoice. The serial number format found etched on the driveshaft did not match any known records. Therefore, the investigation could not determine if the separated driveshaft was the same driveshaft that was installed on the helicopter when it experienced the hard landing. As a result of the accident examination, the helicopter manufacturer submitted a suspected unapproved parts report to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.