Bell 206 N275AE

Summary

On 8 November 2017 at about 17:40 local time, a Bell 206 registered N275AE, operated by Air Evac EMS Inc, was involved in an accident near Union City, Tennessee, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 November 2017 at 17:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Union City, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

None (Lawn)

Coordinates

36.4219, -89.0506

Aircraft

Bell 206

Registration

N275AE

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1986

Engines

1

Operator

Air Evac EMS Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Troy → Union City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA020

3 people had minor injuries.

The pilot’s inadvertent slope landing and attempted recovery, which resulted in an incipient dynamic rollover, mast bumping, and separation of the main rotor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, flight nurse, and flight paramedic were conducting a flight for a public relations event. None of the three crewmembers had previously landed at this landing zone (LZ). A company flight nurse was on the ground at the LZ informing the flight crew of obstacles in the area.   The pilot conducted a low reconnaissance and initiated a steep approach into the LZ. All obstacles were observed and called out by crewmembers as they continued the approach. The terrain appeared to the crew to be flat in all directions. The pilot began to set the helicopter on the ground from a stabilized hover. As the pilot lowered the collective to set the skids on the ground, the skid toes and the forward half of the skids made ground contact; however, from just aft of the pilot’s seat, the terrain sloped downward at a 10°-to-15° angle. Once the collective was lowered to the bottom stop, the helicopter rocked backwards to a tail-low attitude. The pilot and crew felt the tail stinger make ground contact and assumed that the tail rotor had impacted the ground. The pilot then applied upward collective and forward cyclic, which forced the front of the skid toes tightly against the terrain. The application of upward collective resulted in the helicopter entering an incipient dynamic rollover, aggressively rolling to a 45°-to-60° nose-low attitude. The pilot applied aft cyclic to counter the nose low attitude, and mast bumping occurred when the droop (static) stops came in to contact with the mast. The main rotor then separated from the mast and departed the helicopter. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot’s attempted recovery following a slope landing, which resulted in incipient dynamic rollover, mast bumping, and separation of the main rotor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.