Bell 206L N9984K

Summary

On 26 September 2024 at about 22:40 local time, a Bell 206L registered N9984K, operated by JL Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near Fern Prairie, Washington, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

26 September 2024 at 22:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Fern Prairie, Washington, United States

Coordinates

45.6541, -122.3041

Aircraft

Bell 206L

Registration

N9984K

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

JL Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pigeon Springs → Boring

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR24LA319

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On September 26, 2024, at about 1540 Pacific daylight time, a Bell 206L, N9984K, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Fern Prairie, Washington. The pilot was not injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 repositioning flight. According to the pilot, he had departed a remote landing zone and was enroute to the Fly JLA Airport (OR72), Boring, Oregon. While in cruise flight about 1,000 ft above ground level, the helicopter experienced “a severe vertical hop” and began to shake violently. The pilot initiated an emergency descent, during which time the shaking subsided. The pilot performed a normal landing in an open field. After egressing, the pilot observed substantial damage to the helicopter’s tail boom. The helicopter was retained for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.