Plane Crash List

Bell 206L-1 N206AH

23 April 1995 · Richfield, Utah, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 23 April 1995 at about 22:00 local time, a Bell 206L-1 registered N206AH was involved in an accident near Richfield, Utah, United States. 2 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.

The record

Date
at 22:00
Classification
Accident
Location
Richfield, Utah, United States
Coordinates
38.7503, -112.1003
Aircraft
Bell 206L-1
Registration
N206AH
Category
Helicopter
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Business
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
SEA95LA085

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
2 0 0 0 2

Probable cause

ICE INGESTION. FACTORS TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: AIRCRAFT PROTECTIVE COVERINGS WERE UNAVAILABLE, INADEQUATE PREFLIGHT INSPECTION, AND UNEVEN TERRAIN.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE HELICOPTER HAD BEEN STRANDED ON TOP OF A HILL FOR SEVERAL DAYS DUE TO ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND SNOW FALL. BEFORE LEAVING THE HELICOPTER ON THE HILL, THE PILOT STATED THAT HE USED JACKETS AND CUSHIONS TO ATTEMPT TO COVER THE ENGINE INLETS, AS PROTECTIVE COVERINGS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. WHEN THE HELICOPTER WAS RETRIEVED, SNOW HAD ACCUMULATED IN THE INLETS. AFTER THE AIRFRAME AND ENGINE INLETS HAD BEEN CLEANED OF THE SNOW AND ICE BUILD UP, THE ENGINE WAS STARTED AND WARMED BEFORE TAKEOFF. SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND THE PILOT INITIATED AN AUTOROTATION TO SLIGHTLY SLOPING TERRAIN. THE HELICOPTER LANDED HARD. DURING ENGINE INSPECTION, IT WAS FOUND THAT AT LEAST SIX COMPRESSOR BLADES WERE BENT. NO INSPECTION WINDOWS WERE INSTALLED IN THE COWLING, WHICH WOULD HAVE ALLOWED THE PILOT TO VIEW THE PLENUM CHAMBER FOR ICE OR SNOW. POST ACCIDENT INSPECTION OF THE ENGINE DID NOT REVEAL EVIDENCE OF A MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Bell 206 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
14 Feb 1995 Bell 206L-4
N172AL
East Cameron
no coordinates
Offshore Logistics, Inc. Fatal 5
6 Mar 1995 Bell 206L
N164BH
Miami, Florida, United States - No injuries -
27 Feb 1995 Bell 206L
N970CC
Maryland Hts, Missouri, United States - No injuries -
2 Apr 1995 Bell 206L-1
N701EC
Flower Mound, Texas, United States - Fatal 1
2 May 1995 Bell 206L-3
N347AL
Venice, Louisiana, United States - Fatal 1
16 Apr 1995 Bell 206B
N729CH
Horseshoe Bend, Missouri, United States - No injuries -

All 1,732 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
18 Jul 1995 Piper PA-20
N6953K
Ogden, Utah, United States - No injuries -
26 Jul 1995 Cessna 152
N588BR
Wellsville, Utah, United States - Minor injuries -
30 Jul 1995 Cessna 150J
N61284
West Jordan, Utah, United States Richard W. Baggett No injuries -
8 Aug 1995 Piper PA-28-151
N23AF
Panguitch, Utah, United States - No injuries -
10 Aug 1995 Cessna 210E
N2377F
Bullfrog, Utah, United States - No injuries -
20 Aug 1995 Cessna 177RG
N1930Q
Thompson, Utah, United States - Fatal 1

All 170,864 records in United States