Bell OH-58A+ accident near Woods Cross, UT
On February 11, 2000, a Bell OH-58A+ (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Woods Cross, UT. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- February 11, 2000
- Place
- Woods Cross, UT
- Aircraft
- Bell OH-58A+ · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 40.889°N, 111.931°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X20478
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 11, 2000, at 1404 mountain standard time, a military surplus Bell OH-58A+ helicopter, N7UT, was destroyed when it impacted terrain while performing an autorotation during a maintenance flight at Skypark Airport, Woods Cross, Utah. The commercial pilot and his mechanic passenger were both fatally injured. The public use helicopter was being operated by the Utah Department of Public Safety under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the maintenance test flight that originated 13 minutes before the accident. The pilot had not filed a flight plan. According to maintenance personnel, the helicopter was being test flown to evaluate the fuel control for engine RPM (revolutions per minute) droop and to conduct a functional check of the free-wheeling unit. The ground crew reported that the pilot started the engine at approximately 1320, and the helicopter became airborne at approximately 1350. Radar data indicates that the helicopter departed runway 16 and made a left turn to an approximate 360 degree ground track. The pilot reported to Salt Lake City approach control that he was "over Bountiful northbound to Lgoon and back." Lgoon is the name of a step-down fix on the Salt Lake City ILS approach to runway 16L (an estimated 6 nautical miles [nm] north of Skypark Airport). At 1357:27, radar data indicates that the helicopter reversed course southbound. At 1401, the helicopter turned westbound (at approximately 750 feet above ground level [agl]) on a 1 nm base-leg for runway 16. Radar contact with the helicopter was last rec
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to roll throttle back on (return the power to the normal operating range) during an attempted power recovery from an autorotation, and his subsequent failure to maintain aircraft control.
More accidents in UT
- Beech A100, Aug 22, 2008
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Browse: Utah · 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.
