Bell 206 accident near Meeker, CO
On November 3, 2010, a Bell 206 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Meeker, CO. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- November 3, 2010
- Place
- Meeker, CO
- Aircraft
- Bell 206 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 40.189°N, 107.907°W
- NTSB ID
- 20101103X83727
Official records · CEN11FA053
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On November 3, 2010, about 1459 mountain daylight time, N8533F, a Bell 206B helicopter, was substantially damaged after impacting terrain following an in-flight wire strike near Meeker, Colorado. The pilot received serious injuries and the observer was fatally injured. The helicopter was registered to Kauffman Well Service, Inc., Denver, Colorado, and was being operated by Mile High Helicopter Company doing business as Aviation Technology Services, LLC, Englewood, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident and a flight plan had not been filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 pipeline patrol flight. The helicopter departed Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT), Grand Junction, Colorado, about 1156 destined for Meeker Airport (EEO), Meeker, Colorado. The pilot was conducting a low altitude pipeline patrol in a helicopter equipped with sensor equipment that could detect and record the location of plumes of Methane gas. The observer, sitting in the left cockpit seat, was operating the sensor recording equipment during the flight. At the time of the accident, the pilot was flying westbound, following a pipeline that was buried next to a gravel road at the bottom of a valley in a remote mountainous area. Two witnesses, located about 1,300 feet west from the accident site observed the helicopter flying toward them about 100 to 150 feet above the ground when they saw the helicopter suddenly pitch 90 degrees directly nose down. They saw the rotor system then separate from the fuselage and the helicopter disa
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from electrical power lines during the low-altitude flight.
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Browse: Colorado · 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.
