Bell 412 accident near Cold Springs, NV
On August 13, 2000, a Bell 412 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Cold Springs, NV. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 13, 2000
- Place
- Cold Springs, NV
- Aircraft
- Bell 412 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 39.567°N, 117.816°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X21760
NTSB summary
1.1 HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 13, 2000, at 1645 Pacific daylight time, a Bell 412 twin-engine helicopter, N174EH, collided with mountainous terrain while conducting a long line water drop along a ridgeline during a wildfire suppression operation near Cold Springs, Nevada. The wildfire was named the Twin Peaks fire. The helicopter was certified under 14 CFR Part 133 for external load operations and was being operated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as a public-use firefighting aircraft. The helicopter, owned by Era Aviation, was destroyed. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. The helicopter departed the Twin Peaks helibase, located at Cold Springs, at 1605. The primary wreckage was at 39.34.83 north latitude and 117.48.56 west longitude. The accident pilot flew several missions the day of the accident. On the accident flight the pilot flew to the dip site, 3 miles south of the accident location, and then flew to the accident area to make a water drop. According to another pilot working the same dip site and fire, the accident helicopter was to make a water drop along the ridgeline to support the ground fire crews. The trailing pilot was going to make his water drop behind the accident helicopter. He was about 1 mile behind the accident helicopter, and observed the accident helicopter flying along the ridgeline. The accident helicopter made a sudden 90-degree left descending turn and impacted the downsloping mountainous
Probable cause
failure of the compressor turbine disc due to cyclic fatigue brought about by repeated operation near or above the engines' temperature/power limits by company personnel over an extended period of time. Factors in the accident were: 1) the high density altitude, mountainous terrain, and the helicopter's resulting marginal single engine performance capability; 2) the design, fabrication, and instal
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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.
