Bell 212 accident near Philadelphia, MS
On November 27, 1999, a Bell 212 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Philadelphia, MS. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- November 27, 1999
- Place
- Philadelphia, MS
- Aircraft
- Bell 212 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 32.784°N, 88.926°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X20136
Official records · MIA00FA030
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
History of the Flight On November 27, 1999, about 1445 central standard time, a Bell 212, N8144M, registered to Houston Helicopters, Inc., crashed near Philadelphia, Mississippi, while on a Title 14 CFR Part 91 positioning flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The helicopter was destroyed and the airline transport-rated pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. The flight last departed Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the same day, about 1408. The helicopter was being positioned from Virginia, to Pearland, Texas, the home base for the helicopter operator. Transcript of communications from the FAA Air Traffic Control Tower, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, show the flight arrived at Tuscaloosa at 1329. The lineman at Dixie Air, Inc., Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who fueled the helicopter, stated he talked with the pilot and passenger when they arrived. They stated they were flying to Texas, and had been flying since early that morning. They stated that sometime that morning, the greenhouse window above the pilot had broken. They then requested that the fuel tanks be completely topped off with Jet-A fuel. The lineman stated that when he went to the helicopter to fuel it, he observed that the greenhouse window was cracked lengthwise. Transcripts show that at 1408, the pilot requested and was given a west departure from Tuscaloosa. No further contact with air traffic control facilities were made after this. (See transcript of communications and witness statement). The transcript of communications recorded on the cockpit voice recorder showed that abou
Probable cause
The failure of the pilot and company maintenance personnel during preflight and periodic inspections to identify the signs of fretting and looseness in the "red" main rotor blade pitch change horn to main rotor blade grip attachment, resulting in the helicopter continuing in service with a loose pitch change horn, separation of the pitch change horn from the blade grip, and inflight breakup of the
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Browse: Mississippi · 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.
