Bell 206B accident near Round Top, TX
On April 2, 1998, a Bell 206B (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Round Top, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 2, 1998
- Place
- Round Top, TX
- Aircraft
- Bell 206B · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 30.061°N, 96.691°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X09841
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 2, 1998, at 0817 central standard time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N7734A, was destroyed upon impact with terrain while maneuvering near Round Top, Texas. The non-instrument rated private pilot, sole occupant of the helicopter, was fatally injured. The helicopter was owned and operated by Autorotate, Inc., of Austin, Texas. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the accident site. No flight plan was filed for the 132 mile cross country flight which originated from the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport (AUS) near Austin, Texas, at approximately 0730. The Title 14 CFR Part 91 flight's destination was the Houston Hobby Airport (HOU), near Houston, Texas. The helicopter was last topped off with 50 gallons of Jet-A fuel by Austin Aero , a fixed base operator at AUS prior to its departure from Austin on the morning of the accident. Witnesses near the accident site reported the accident at 0824 on the 911 emergency line, after observing the helicopter in a nose down attitude and hearing the sound of impact with trees. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The 42-year-old private pilot was an executive with an oil exploration company in Austin, Texas. At the time he obtained his private pilot certificate, on July 9, 1997, he had accumulated a total of 93.4 hours of flight time. All of his flight experience was obtained in the Bell 206 helicopter. At the time of the accident, he had accumulated a total of 187.4 flight hours. According to the pilot's log book, which was found at the accident site, the pilot completed 6.1 hours of flight training at t
Probable cause
The pilot's attempted VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing factors were fog, low ceilings, and trees.
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Browse: Texas · 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.
