Bell 206 N284S

Summary

On 8 August 2020 at about 16:00 local time, a Bell 206 registered N284S, operated by Southwest Heliservices Llc, was involved in an accident near Marathon, Texas, United States. 4 people were on board and 3 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 August 2020 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Marathon, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.1917, -103.2103

Aircraft

Bell 206

Registration

N284S

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Southwest Heliservices Llc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Alpine → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20LA328

3 people died.

The in-flight loss of helicopter control for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an aerial survey flight when the helicopter was about 800 ft above ground level, the pilot felt a slight vertical vibration through the collective and airframe. The vibration immediately intensified to a severe lateral vibration in the main rotor system, and the pilot could not control the helicopter. While maneuvering for an emergency landing, the helicopter lost lift and impacted terrain short of the intended landing area, and a postimpact fire ensued. The pilot stated that the engine was producing power at the time of the accident. No evidence indicated an in-flight structural breakup, and all damage to the airframe occurred during the ground impact sequence. A fatigue crack was found on the leadingedge abrasion strip of one of the main rotor blades. Given the flat fracture features of the fatigue cracking, the fatigue crack was present before the accident flight. However, this fatigue cracking showed no evidence of propagation into the blade spar and, therefore, was likely not a factor in this accident. The main rotor blade damage was likely due to ground and tailboom impacts; the examined portions of the main rotor blades showed no evidence of an in-flight failure of the main rotor blades. In addition, no evidence showed any flight control disconnections, and further postaccident examination to determine if the flight control system had fractured could not be performed due to the extensive thermal damage. The helicopter’s hydraulic system was unable to be tested due to the damage resulting from the postcrash fire. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The reason for the in-flight loss of control could not be determined based on the available evidence for this accident investigation. The helicopter was not equipped with, and was not required to be equipped with, crashresistant flight recorders. The lack of flight recorder data for this accident precluded further evaluation of the accident circumstances and pilot actions. This accident demonstrates the need for crash-resistant flight and image recorders aboard turbine-powered, nonexperimental, nonrestricted-category aircraft that are not currently required to be so equipped, as previously recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.