Bell 212 N98W

Summary

On 26 April 1999 at about 16:00 local time, a Bell 212 registered N98W was involved in an accident near Snoqualmie, Washington, United States. One person was 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

26 April 1999 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Snoqualmie, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.5290, -121.8000

Aircraft

Bell 212

Registration

N98W

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Snoqualmie → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA99LA141

Nobody was injured.

Clearance from an object was not maintained. A tree was a factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was moving sand, via an external load bucket, to a golf course sand trap which was located near a tree line. The pilot reported that the trees were about 50 to 60 feet in height, and that there was little room for movement. The pilot stated that at the time of the accident, the bucket was placed just short of the target area. As the pilot moved the cyclic to reposition the load, the tip plane of the main rotor blades dipped down and came in contact with a tree branch. The pilot stated that he did not realize that the collision had occurred until about 15 minutes later, when he noticed the broken tree branch. The pilot landed the helicopter without further incident to inspect for damage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.