Bell 206L-1 accident near Montello, NV
On August 4, 2000, a Bell 206L-1 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Montello, NV. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 4, 2000
- Place
- Montello, NV
- Aircraft
- Bell 206L-1 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 41.220°N, 114.229°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X21759
Official records · LAX00GA286
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 3, 2000, at 1855 hours Pacific daylight time, a Bell 206L-1, N10864, was destroyed when the helicopter abruptly rolled to the right and impacted terrain during hover after takeoff at Montello, Nevada. The helicopter was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 in support of firefighting activities as a public-use aircraft by the United States Bureau of Land Management. One passenger was fatally injured and the other passenger was seriously injured. The commercial certificated pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the positioning flight that was destined for Wells, Nevada. There were six ground-based crewmembers affiliated with the operation of the helicopter that witnessed the accident. All of the witnesses were together as a group about 50 feet south of the departing helicopter and viewed the helicopter from the left-side perspective. The witnesses provided a consistent opinion that the helicopter was clear of the ground, in a stable hover at 2 to 5 feet above the ground, when it suddenly rolled to the right and crashed. Two witnesses described the rolling maneuver as "hard" and "violent." There was some disagreement about whether the helicopter rolled to the right until inverted and then bounced back to the left back up on its skids, versus rolling to the right one complete revolution to end up upright. Some commented that the flying dirt and debris from the helicopter was confusing. None of the witnesses described the maneuver as a yawing or spinning maneuver, but rather as a roll about the longitudinal a
Probable cause
The loss of control in hovering flight and impact with terrain for undetermined reasons.
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Browse: Nevada · 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.
