Bell 206 N49660

Summary

On 24 September 2015 at about 19:45 local time, a Bell 206 registered N49660 was involved in an accident near Ozark, Alabama, 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

24 September 2015 at 19:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Ozark, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

31.4322, -85.5717

Aircraft

Bell 206

Registration

N49660

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ozark → Ozark

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA15LA296

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain while hovering, which resulted in the helicopter's skid impacting terrain, subsequent abnormal airframe vibrations, and a hard landing during the subsequent hovering autorotation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the commercial pilot, he was hovering the helicopter in a field to position it for departure on a personal flight. He reported that the helicopter "moved out of ground effect," lost lift, and then began to settle. The left skid subsequently contacted terrain, and the helicopter began to roll left. The pilot arrested the rolling motion with flight control inputs, and the helicopter climbed to about 10 to 15 ft above the ground. However, the ground contact had placed the helicopter in an unusual attitude and generated a "rocking motion." Although the pilot attempted to correct for the unusual attitude, the main rotor system contacted portions of the upper cowling and the transmission, and the transmission driveshaft contacted its mounting system, which induced abnormal vibrations throughout the airframe. Due to these vibrations and the possible rotor system damage, the pilot initiated a hovering autorotation. The helicopter subsequently landed hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the tailboom. A postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed substantial damage to the transmission drive system. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.