Bell 206 N206R

Summary

On 6 February 2016 at about 17:39 local time, a Bell 206 registered N206R, operated by Donald J. Banks, was involved in an accident near Linden, New Jersey, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 February 2016 at 17:39

Classification

Accident

Location

Linden, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Linden (LDJ)

Coordinates

40.6172, -74.2447

Aircraft

Bell 206

Registration

N206R

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1996

Engines

1

Operator

Donald J. Banks

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Linden → Linden

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16LA104

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot receiving instruction's failure to maintain helicopter control during the initial takeoff, which resulted in a dynamic rollover. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's inadequate remedial action due to his distraction by looking outside the helicopter to ensure that the area was clear.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that the purpose of the flight was to provide the private pilot, who was also the owner of the helicopter and was helicopter-rated, transition training in the helicopter. He stated that they performed a preflight inspection, flight control check, and hydraulic check with no anomalies noted. The pilot receiving instruction was at the controls of the helicopter during the initial takeoff from a dolly to a hover. The flight instructor stated that, when the helicopter became "light on the skids," it started to roll left. The helicopter continued to roll left, impacted the ground on the left side of the dolly, bounced, and then came to rest on the right side of the dolly. The flight instructor reported that he was looking to the left during the initial takeoff to verify that the area was clear and that he had never had anything happen that quickly while instructing. Examination of the helicopter revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A postaccident examination of the dolly revealed that there were no scrapes or score marks on the diamond steel platform on the dolly; therefore, it is unlikely that the helicopter got caught on the dolly. It is likely that, during the takeoff, the pilot unintentionally applied excessive left cyclic, which resulted in the helicopter experiencing a dynamic rollover. In addition, because the flight instructor was distracted by looking outside the helicopter to ensure that the area was clear, he did not provide any corrective actions to prevent the rollover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.