Bell 206A N206GR

Summary

On 5 January 2000 at about 19:08 local time, a Bell 206A registered N206GR was involved in an accident near Brutus, New York, United States. 4 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.

Date

5 January 2000 at 19:08

Classification

Accident

Location

Brutus, New York, United States

Coordinates

43.0396, -76.5598

Aircraft

Bell 206A

Registration

N206GR

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Penn Yan → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD00LA015

Nobody was injured.

Was the pilot's failure to maintain directional control after encountering a loss of tail rotor effectiveness.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting an aerial observation of powerlines with three passengers onboard. The pilot stated he was heading westbound checking a cross arm at a slow hover. He then began to accelerate and turned east about 100 feet above the ground when a gust of wind pushed against the helicopter and the helicopter began to rotate to the right. The pilot attempted to accelerate into the wind to no avail and the aircraft 'corkscrewed' down into the ground. On the ground, the helicopter rolled on to its right side. Winds were reported out of the west at 280 degrees at 16 knots gusting to 22 knots 15 miles east of the accident site. No pre-impact deficiencies were reported with the engine or airframe.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.