Bell 206L-3 N206WX

Summary

On 8 July 2024 at about 23:00 local time, a Bell 206L-3 registered N206WX, operated by Vertical Vegetation Management, LLC, was involved in an accident near Thorntown, Indiana, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2024 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Thorntown, Indiana, United States

Coordinates

40.1253, -86.5633

Aircraft

Bell 206L-3

Registration

N206WX

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1982

Engines

1

Operator

Vertical Vegetation Management, LLC

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Thorntown → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN24LA259

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to ensure that the load hose was disconnected from the helicopter before takeoff, which resulted in a loss of control after liftoff and a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting agricultural flight operations in a helicopter using a truck and trailer as a refueling/loading base. Before the takeoff, the helicopter was reloaded with fungicide and fuel while on the truck trailer. The pilot inadvertently departed with the agricultural load hose still connected to the helicopter. The pilot reported that the helicopter yawed suddenly after liftoff, due to the connected load hose, which he perceived as a loss of engine power. The pilot made an immediate hard landing in an adjacent cornfield, during which the main rotor system deflected down and struck the tail. The tailboom and vertical fins were substantially damaged during the hard landing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations. The pilot opined that the accident might have been prevented with the use of a checklist, better radio communication with the ground crew, and the use of a breakaway fitting on the load hose.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.