Bell 206 N3176L

Summary

On 15 February 2015 at about 20:00 local time, a Bell 206 registered N3176L, operated by Great Smoky Mountain Helicopter Inc, was involved in an accident near Sevierville, Tennessee, United States. 6 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

15 February 2015 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Sevierville, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Sixty Six (6TN3)

Coordinates

35.8956, -83.5786

Aircraft

Bell 206

Registration

N3176L

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1983

Engines

1

Operator

Great Smoky Mountain Helicopter Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sevierville → Sevierville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15LA138

Nobody was injured.

An uncontained engine failure, which resulted from insufficient lubrication of the No. 4 bearing due to carbon buildup on the filter screen of the bearing's oil supply nozzle.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was departing in the helicopter for a local aerial sightseeing flight with five passengers. The engine was operating during the boarding process. After the passengers were seated and had fastened their seat belts, the pilot increased the engine power to 100%, raised the collective, and felt the helicopter shudder. He lowered the collective and looked to make sure all passengers were seated. He raised the collective a second time, again felt the shudder, lowered the collective, and then heard "a loud bang." He subsequently turned off the fuel to shut down the engine. A fire began in the engine compartment, and ground personnel helped evacuate the passengers and extinguish the fire. Multiple fragments of engine turbine section components were found resting in the engine bay, on the ground around the helicopter, and embedded in the bottom surfaces of the main rotor blades. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the power turbine shaft had decoupled due to a No. 4 bearing failure. Carbon buildup was found on the filter screen of the No. 4 bearing's oil supply nozzle that partially obstructed oil flow to the bearing and likely resulted in insufficient lubrication of the bearing. The No. 4 bearing inner race spun on the bearing journal instead of remaining stationary as designed. The turbine rotates at extremely high speeds, and the resistance from the failed bearing caused the power turbine pinion splines to decouple, leading to an instantaneous power turbine overspeed. The overspeed led to a third stage turbine disk burst and radial uncontainment of fragmented power turbine components through the exhaust support and airframe. All turbine component fractures were due to overload failure, and there was no evidence of fatigue. Therefore, it is likely that the uncontained engine failure was the result of insufficient lubrication of the No. 4 bearing due to carbon buildup on the oil supply nozzle's filter screen.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.