Bell 206B accident near Mead, WA
On August 17, 2004, a Bell 206B (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Mead, WA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 17, 2004
- Place
- Mead, WA
- Aircraft
- Bell 206B · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 47.789°N, 117.349°W
- NTSB ID
- 20040825X01284
NTSB summary
On August 17, 2004, at 0940 Pacific daylight time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N34698, was destroyed when it impacted terrain following a loss of control while hovering out of ground effect with an external load near Mead, Washington. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The helicopter was registered to and operated by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The purpose of the public use flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 133 was to assist in stringing power lines for the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company flight plan was filed. The flight departed from Spokane International Airport in Spokane, Washington at 0655. INFORMATION FROM FAA According to information gathered by FAA inspectors who responded to the accident site, the helicopter was pulling sock line (rope) that was to be used to install a static wire at the top of 220-foot-tall towers supporting a 500-kV power line. (The stringing of sock line is a Class C external load operation, meaning an operation in which the external load is jettisonable and remains in contact with land or water during the rotorcraft operation.) The sock line was attached to the helicopter's remote cargo hook and played out of a truck mounted reel machine. The reel machine operator provided a written statement to the FAA inspectors stating that "suddenly the rope wrapped over another rope or pulled down in the drum, causing the rope to reverse on the drum." The reel machine operator immediately moved the machine's shift lever from "OUT" to "NE
Probable cause
The reversal of the reel machine during a sock line pull which resulted in a loss of control while hovering out of ground effect. Factors were the failure of company management to develop adequate procedures for conducting sock line pulls, the inadequate communication between the chief pilot and the pilot, the inadequate communication between the ground personnel and the pilot, and the pilot's lac
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Browse: Washington · 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.
