Bell 206B accident near Winter Park, FL
On May 22, 1997, a Bell 206B (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Winter Park, FL. 3 people were seriously injured. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 22, 1997
- Place
- Winter Park, FL
- Aircraft
- Bell 206B · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 0 fatal, 3 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 28.590°N, 81.341°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X07971
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 22, 1997, about 1710 eastern daylight time, a Bell 206B, N61PP, registered to Highlands Helicopter Service Inc., operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 photography flight, experienced an in-flight loss of control while hovering out of ground effect with a tailwind, and crashed in a residential area in Winter Park, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The helicopter was destroyed. The commercial pilot and two passengers sustained serious injuries. The flight originated from Orlando Executive Airport, Orlando, Florida, about 7 minutes before the accident. The photographer stated he was located in the right rear seat behind the pilot and the other passenger was in the left front seat. They departed Orlando Executive Airport and flew to the vicinity of the Naval Training facility to take some photos. They elected not to photograph the facility and traveled southwest bound towards the bank located at 1560 Orange Avenue. He did not know what altitude they were at, but he overheard some conversation on the aircraft radio that they would be at or below 700 feet. They came to a hover heading westbound with a wind from the east and he took several photos of the bank out of the right rear window. They started to move forward, the helicopter started pitching up and down like a boat in the water. He heard a loud noise which came from behind him. There was no conversation between anyone in the helicopter, and he did not hear any alarms over the headset. The helicopter started spinning, collided with a tree, hit the ground, and
Probable cause
The pilots improper in-flight planning/decision to conduct an out of ground effect hover with a tailwind resulting in an in-flight loss of directional control due to loss of tailrotor effectiveness/unanticipated right yaw, and subsequent in-flight collision with a tree and terrain. Contributing to the accident was the manufactures inadequate written procedures in the flight manual, and the pilot's
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Browse: Florida · Bell aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
