Bell 206 N295AE

Summary

On 21 January 2024 at about 05:23 local time, a Bell 206 registered N295AE, operated by Air Evac EMS Inc, was involved in an accident near Hydro, Oklahoma, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 January 2024 at 05:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Hydro, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

35.5493, -98.5518

Aircraft

Bell 206

Registration

N295AE

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1991

Engines

1

Operator

Air Evac EMS Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oklahoma City → Weatherford

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CEN24FA094

3 people died.

The helicopter’s inflight collision with cackling geese, resulting in an inflight breakup.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was en route back to the crew’s home airfield when it encountered a flock of geese during the night flight. The helicopter was in cruise flight about 500-600 ft above ground level and at 110 knots groundspeed when the encounter occurred. The bird strike resulted in an inflight breakup of the helicopter and subsequent impact with terrain. Examination of the helicopter did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have contributed to the accident. Bird strike signatures were located on the main rotor pitch change links, which were both fractured in overload. Loss of a main rotor pitch change link would result in the loss of main rotor blade pitch directional control, vibrations, and excessive blade flapping. DNA testing found that all remains were consistent with female cackling geese, which have an average mass of 4.2 pounds Preflight mission planning for the flight would likely not have detected a risk for a bird strike. A review of military and civilian bird hazard websites showed that at the time of the accident, the probability of bird strike in that area was deemed to be low. In addition, historic migration data also estimated the probability of a bird strike at the time of the accident as low.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.