Bell 206 N106PD

Summary

On 16 August 2019 at about 14:45 local time, a Bell 206 registered N106PD, operated by Omaha Police Department, was involved in an accident near Blair, Nebraska, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

16 August 2019 at 14:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Blair, Nebraska, United States

Nearest airport

Blair Muni (BTA)

Coordinates

41.4150, -96.1092

Aircraft

Bell 206

Registration

N106PD

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2008

Engines

1

Operator

Omaha Police Department

Operating rule

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Blair → Blair

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19LA269

2 people had minor injuries.

The loss of main rotor rpm for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot-in-command (PIC), who is also a flight instructor and was stationed in the right seat of the helicopter, decided to conduct emergency procedure training with a simulated governor failure of the turboshaft engine before returning to the airport to land. The co-pilot, who is not a flight instructor, was stationed in the left seat.  The intent was to recover from the simulated governor failure at a safe airspeed and altitude. The PIC initiated a simulated governor failure by rolling the throttle down just enough to take the governor offline but still maintain the main rotor rpm in the green (normal) range. The helicopter descended while maintaining airspeed until over the runway. About 40 ft above ground level and about 45 knots, the PIC announced his intention to complete the training maneuver and rolled the throttle back to the full open position. The PIC verbally confirmed the main rotor rpm indication in the green range. All other indications in the helicopter appeared to be normal to the PIC. As the helicopter was in normal operating conditions, the PIC applied aft cyclic to slow down and begin air taxiing to the parking pad to the east (right) of their current position. At that moment, he heard the low main rotor rpm audible horn. The PIC confirmed a loss of engine power by referencing indications in the cockpit. The helicopter descended very rapidly toward the ground and the PIC surmised the engine was unable to produce power. The PIC reduced the collective briefly to regain main rotor energy then applied collective to cushion the landing. The helicopter impacted the runway and came to rest on its left side, which resulted in substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the available evidence, the loss of main rotor rpm could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.