Bell 214B-1 N214B

Summary

On 17 September 2004 at about 19:00 local time, a Bell 214B-1 registered N214B was involved in an accident near Aspen, Colorado, 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

17 September 2004 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Aspen, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Aspen-Pitkin Co/Sardy Field (ASE)

Coordinates

39.1897, -106.8194

Aircraft

Bell 214B-1

Registration

N214B

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Aspen → Aspen

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN04LA145

Nobody was injured.

the inadvertent activation of the engine's fuel shut off valve, resulting in the reduction of engine power to 50 percent due to an improper cannon plug wire repair on the engine's wire harness assembly. Contributing factors include the improper wire repair, the low altitude, and the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, as he brought the helicopter to a 90-foot hover, he felt a "slight shudder" as the engine experienced a compressor stall. He stated that the engine rpm dropped to idle and he noticed the fuel flow had dropped to "idle fuel flow." He turned the helicopter downhill and attempted a forced landing on a nearby ski slope. The helicopter struck the ground with its nose, slid approximately 30 feet, and rolled over on its left side. The impact crushed the forward section of the fuselage, buckled the tail boom, and separated the vertical fin, tail rotor assembly, and both landing gear skids. The engine continued to run at idle after the helicopter came to rest. During a serviceability inspection of the engine's wire harness, a broken wire was located in the overspeed control unit's cannon plug. The wire in the "crimp type" cannon plug had been repaired with a solder joint, which is not allowed due to the close tolerance of the pins. According to the technician, the broken wire condition, in itself, would not engage the overspeed system or result in the loss of engine power. However, it was noted that, due to the close tolerance of the pins, any movement of the broken wire could enable the solder joint on one pin to touch the other pin. During a bench test, the technician stated that he "shorted pin B to pin C." This shorted condition resulted in the inadvertent activation of the fuel shut-off valve, which would result in the reduction of engine power to approximately 50 percent.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.