Plane Crash List

Bell 206 B3 N90328

1 August 1985 · Arroyo Grande, California, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 1 August 1985 at about 17:15 local time, a Bell 206 B3 registered N90328, operated by Western Helicopters, was involved in an accident near Arroyo Grande, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

The record

Date
at 17:15
Classification
Accident
Location
Arroyo Grande, California, United States
Coordinates
35.1591, -120.4300
Aircraft
Bell 206 B3
Registration
N90328
Category
Helicopter
Engines
1
Operator
Western Helicopters
Operating rule
Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load
Purpose of flight
Other Work Use
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
LAX85LA336

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 0 1

Probable cause

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 HOVERING AND SLINGING AN EXTERNAL LOAD OVER ROUGH TERRAIN THE ENG CHIP LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE PLT IMMEDIATELY POSITIONED THE ACFT TO RELEASE THE LOAD AND THE ENG BEGAN MAKING A 'WHINING' NOISE. SEVERAL SECONDS LATER ALL ENG POWER WAS LOST. THE PLT AUTOROTATED TO A FIRM LANDING AND UPON TOUCHDOWN THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES FLEXED DOWNWARD AND SEVERED THE TAIL BOOM. EXAM OF THE ENG'S TURBINE COMPONENTS REVEALED THE PRESENCE OF A 'SLUDGE' MATERIAL IN THE SCAVENGE OIL LINE FROM THE NO. 8 BEARING AND ALSO THE PRESENCE OF A HEAVY BUILD UP OF CARBON ON THE ENGINE ROTOR 'PEASHOOTER' DRIVE SHAFT. THE ACCUMULATED MATERIAL CAUSED SHAFT RUB AND FAILURE OF THE POWER TURBINE'S INNER SHAFT. THE OPERATOR REPORTED THAT AN EARLY INSPECTION OF THE N1/N2 DRIVE SHAFT AREA COULD HAVE DETECTED THE PROBLEM AND PREVENTED THE ACCIDENT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Bell 206 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
10 Jan 1985 Bell 206BIII
N59619
Kenai, Alaska, United States - Fatal 1
15 Jul 1985 Bell 206L-1
N32GT
Saginaw, Texas, United States - Serious injuries -
9 Aug 1985 Bell 206B
N22952
Damon, Texas, United States Evergreen Helicopters Inc. Minor injuries -
31 Mar 1985 Bell 206A
N1434W
San Diego, California, United States
no coordinates
Blue Bird Express Helicopters Serious injuries -
9 Mar 1985 Bell 206B
N2060V
Whittier, Alaska, United States Michael Pariser Fatal 1
12 Apr 1985 Bell 206B
N2925W
Lake Berryessa, California, United States Horizon Helicopter, Inc. Minor injuries -

All 1,732 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
16 Mar 1985 Mooney M20C
N1359W
Apple Valley, California, United States - Serious injuries -
22 Mar 1985 Cessna 152
N67001
Shafter, California, United States Air Center International, Inc. Minor injuries -
23 Mar 1985 Cessna 150
N6653G
Banning, California, United States - Minor injuries -
15 Oct 1985 Rotorway EXECUTIVE
N2071Z
El Monte, California, United States Frank Louis Lillo No injuries -
29 Mar 1985 Piper PA-30
N802Y
Death Valley, California, United States Underwood Assoc. Inc. No injuries -
2 Apr 1985 Cessna 414
XBDED
Eagle Mountain, California, United States - Unknown -

All 170,864 records in United States