Bell 206B N51DC

Summary

On 4 August 1983 at about 23:45 local time, a Bell 206B registered N51DC was involved in an accident near Stuart, Florida, United States. 4 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

4 August 1983 at 23:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Stuart, Florida, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N51DC

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA83LA199

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

WHILE IN CRUISE FLT AT APRX 600 FT AGL, A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE ENGINE'S 3RD STAGE TURBINE OCCURRED. THE PLT RELATED THAT HE OBSERVED AN ENGINE CHIP DETECTOR LIGHT, WHICH WAS FOLLOWED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY BY FIRE IN THE ENGINE. HE MADE A SUCCESSFUL AUTOROTATIVE LANDING. THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED BY USE OF HAND FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT. FIRE DAMAGE WAS LIMITED TO THE ENGINE AREA. THE ENGINE WAS SHIPPED TO THE MANUFACTURER'S FACILITY FOR EXAMINATION. ACCORDING TO THEIR REPORT, THE FAILURE OCCURRED DUE TO WHAT APPEARED TO BE AN OIL TYPE CORROSION FROM THE I.D. SURFACE OF THE INNER POWER TURBINE SHAFT; CORROSION WEAKENED THE SHAFT BY REDUCING THE WALL THICKNESS WHICH RESULTED IN IT FRACTURING & ALLOWING THE 3RD STAGE TURBINE WHEEL TO SEPARATE FROM THE 4TH STAGE TURBINE SHEEL & OVERSPEED; THE 3RD STAGE WHEEL THEN EXPERIENCED AN UNCONTAINED BURST FAILURE AS A RESULT OF THE OVERSPEED.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.