Bell UH-1H accident near Quincy, CA
On December 23, 1998, a Bell UH-1H (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Quincy, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 23, 1998
- Place
- Quincy, CA
- Aircraft
- Bell UH-1H · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 39.961°N, 121.000°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X11576
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 23, 1998, at 1151 hours Pacific standard time, a Bell UH-1H, N4590, entered an uncontrolled descent following a loss of engine power and impacted in Belden Reservoir, 7 miles west of Quincy, California. The helicopter was destroyed and the commercial licensed pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the external load operation that was conducted by Westwind Helicopters, Inc., under 14 CFR Part 133. According to the operator, the helicopter was engaged in a long line external load operation in support of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). The pilot was lifting construction equipment, typically in 500 pound loads, from a hillside construction site to a base location at a small resort at the north end of Belden Reservoir. There were three ground witnesses, who were PG&E employees, handling the loading of equipment into the external load sling at the mountain top construction site. The witnesses reported that after 4 or 5 loads had been picked up routinely, the helicopter made an abnormal sound as it approached for the next load. The sound was described by the first witness as "an alarm going off" and "like a beeping." The second said, "It wasn't a beeping but more like a tone," and the third said it was "like a buzzer or like an alarm like a whistle almost." The three said that the pilot then radioed something about it being cold, intake icing and the engine needing more heat. He interrupted the pickup operation and flew around in the area for 2 or 3 minutes before resuming the pickup operation. They then did
Probable cause
An inaccurate exhaust gas temperature gauge, that allowed the engine to be run over-temperature unknowingly by the pilot, which resulted in the subsequent failure of the turbine sections. Also causal was the pilot's failure to maintain rotor RPM during the autorotation. A factor in the accident was the operator's failure to adequately perform engine health indicator tests.
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Browse: California · 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.
