Bell 206 accident near Pigeon Forge, TN
On April 4, 2016, a Bell 206 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Pigeon Forge, TN. 5 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 4, 2016
- Place
- Pigeon Forge, TN
- Aircraft
- Bell 206 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 5 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.825°N, 83.568°W
- NTSB ID
- 20160404X74644
Official records · ERA16FA144
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn April 4, 2016, about 1610 eastern daylight time, a Bell 206L, N16760, was destroyed when it impacted terrain while maneuvering following a loss of engine power in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The commercial pilot and four passengers were fatally injured. The helicopter was registered to a private individual and operated by Great Smoky Mountain Helicopters, Inc., doing business as Smoky Mountain Helicopters as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 local air tour flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the flight that departed Sixty Six Heliport (6TN3), Sevierville, Tennessee, about 1600. According to the operator, the helicopter had been purchased in 1986 for air tour/sightseeing purposes. At the time of the accident, the operator owned two helicopters, a Bell 206B that was based in Cherokee, North Carolina, and the accident helicopter, which was based at 6TN3. A company pilot reported that he flew the helicopter on an estimated 10 local sightseeing flights on the morning of the accident. The accident pilot took over from him between 1300 and 1400 and completed 5 sightseeing flights in the helicopter before the accident flight. The company pilot reported that he checked the helicopter's fuel level before the departure of the accident flight, and the fuel level was "just below the 6-inch line," which corresponded to about 300 pounds of fuel. The pilot of another helicopter operating in the area about the time of the accident reported that he did not hear any distress calls. He further stated that
Probable cause
An inflight loss of engine power due to a failure of the engine fuel pump, which resulted in a collision with trees and terrain during the subsequent autorotation. The failure of the engine fuel pump resulted from the absence of adequate grease leading to accelerated spline wear within the fuel pump.
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Browse: Tennessee · 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.
