Bell 206B-3 accident near Shelbyville, TX
On March 10, 2005, a Bell 206B-3 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Shelbyville, TX. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- March 10, 2005
- Place
- Shelbyville, TX
- Aircraft
- Bell 206B-3 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 31.751°N, 94.001°W
- NTSB ID
- 20050317X00328
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 10, 2005, approximately 1354 central standard time, a Bell 206B-3 helicopter, N85BH, sustained substantial damage when it impacted heavily wooded terrain in the Sabine National Forest near Shelbyville, Texas. The airline transport rated pilot and two United Stated Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (USFS) crewmembers sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight/mission was being monitored and conducted in accordance with USFS aviation policies for public use aircraft in fire management operations. The flight departed at 1347 from a field helicopter pad (H1), located approximately 7 miles southeast of the accident site. On the morning of the accident, the helicopter was assigned to support a prescribed fire within heavily wooded terrain with 100-120 foot high trees near Shelbyville, TX. The prescribed fire was supported by the application of aerial ignition spheres utilizing a cabin mounted plastic sphere dispenser (PSD) machine. According to USFS operating procedures, PSD missions are typically flown at 50-300 feet above the top of vegetation at airspeeds from 20-40 knots. The helicopter was based at Angelina County Airport, Lufkin, Texas. Approximately 0928, after a mission brief, the helicopter, with pilot and two USFS personnel on board, and the re-fueling truck re-positioned to H1 (coordinates North 31 degrees 42.110 minutes West 93 degrees 52.540 minutes) and were met by support equipment and personnel from the Sabine National Forest to conduct a prescribed fire mission. Approximately 1234
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain altitude and clearance for undetermined reasons.
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Browse: Texas · 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.
