Bell 206B-III N313JP

Summary

On 25 July 2001 at about 22:40 local time, a Bell 206B-III registered N313JP was involved in an accident near Jacksonville, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 July 2001 at 22:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Coordinates

30.2200, -81.7501

Aircraft

Bell 206B-III

Registration

N313JP

Category

Helicopter

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jacksonville → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA01TA194

2 people had minor injuries.

the pilot's failure to recognize and correct for unanticipated right yaw/loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE) during an approach to hover at a low altitude, which resulted in a loss of control and the helicopter descending and colliding with a house and the ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he started a descent into the area heading east into the wind, and down to 300 feet. He said he made several passes, and on the last pass he made a left turn, and had started turning to the right when the aircraft developed a fast yaw to the right, indicative of imminent loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE). The pilot said he immediately reduced collective and nosed the aircraft forward, and started losing altitude fast with no significant improvement in the yaw rate to the right. He said he pulled power to arrest the descent rate, and the yaw rate got faster, and he made a forced landing between two houses, pulling power at the bottom to arrest the descent rate. During the forced landing, the right skid touched down on the side of the roof, the aircraft then rolled left and came down to the ground. The pilot said that prior to the accident, there had been no mechanical failure or malfunction to the aircraft, or to any of its systems.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.