ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 239321
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| Date: | Saturday 8 August 2020 |
| Time: | 11:00 |
| Type: |  Bell 206B JetRanger III |
| Owner/operator: | Southwest Heliservices LLC |
| Registration: | N284S |
| MSN: | 2393 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1978 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 15164 hours |
| Engine model: | Allison 250-C20B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Marathon, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Survey |
| Departure airport: | Alpine, TX |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On August 8, 2020, about 1100 central daylight time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N284S, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Marathon, Texas. The pilot was seriously injured, and the three passengers were fatally injured. The flight was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 aerial survey flight.
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 leading-edge 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, crash-resistant 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.
Probable Cause: The in-flight loss of helicopter control for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/3-state-employees-dead-in-helicopter-crash-in-15470380.php
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-statement-on-texas-parks-and-wildlife-department-helicopter-crash
https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/wma/find_a_wma/list/?id=2
https://pitchstonewaters.com/desert-bighorn-at-black-gap-wildlife-management-area-far-west-texas/
NTSB
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=284S
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/2/44945_1270231920.jpg (photo)
Location
Images:
Media:
NTSB investigating the Aug. 8, 2020, crash of a Bell 206B helicopter in Marathon, TX. NTSB is not traveling to the scene of the crash at this time.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) August 9, 2020
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Aug-2020 16:59 | Aerossurance | Added |
| 09-Aug-2020 17:02 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Source] |
| 09-Aug-2020 17:09 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 09-Aug-2020 18:17 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Embed code] |
| 09-Aug-2020 23:25 | Geno | Updated [Nature, Source, Embed code] |
| 10-Aug-2020 17:51 | harro | Updated [Registration, Cn, Operator, Source] |
| 10-Aug-2020 19:47 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Phase, Source] |
| 26-Aug-2020 08:36 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Aug-2020 08:38 | harro | Updated [Time, Operator, Nature, Source] |
| 02-Mar-2021 18:36 | rudy | Updated [[Time, Operator, Nature, Source]] |
| 07-Mar-2022 16:14 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
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