Bell 206 accident near Rio Grande, PR
On June 30, 2018, a Bell 206 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Rio Grande, PR. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- June 30, 2018
- Place
- Rio Grande, PR
- Aircraft
- Bell 206 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 3 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 18.402°N, 65.774°W
- NTSB ID
- 20180630X45646
Official records · ERA18LA183
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Air Traffic Control Transcripts: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn June 30, 2018, about 1255 Atlantic standard time, a Bell 206B, N10CV, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The private pilot was fatally injured, and three passengers sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The helicopter departed from Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (TJIG), San Juan, Puerto Rico, about 1236 and was destined for Villa Marina Heliport (PR26), Fajardo, Puerto Rico. The passenger in the right rear seat stated that the first few minutes of the flight were normal, then he felt what he described as "a pull from the ground," and the helicopter started to descend. The passenger in the left front seat reported that, a few seconds before ground impact, he observed a 0 reading on the torque meter and more than two lights illuminate on the instrument panel. The pilot then said, "we lost the engine, we need to land" and started looking for a landing spot. The passenger in the rear right seat reported hearing a "beep beep" sound, which is consistent with an engine out warning. He stated that the pilot attempted to land on a road, but the passenger felt the helicopter "just fall down and crash." AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe engine was equipped with nine main bearings (Nos. 1, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8), six stages of axial compressor, a single centrifugal compressor (impeller) and four stages of turbine disks. The gear-driven engine-driven oil pump, and scavenge pump are responsible for lubrication and scavenging of
Probable cause
A total loss of engine power due to oil exhaustion, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent and hard landing.
More accidents in PR
- Cessna 206H, Feb 8, 2009
- Cessna A185F, Jul 1, 2011
- Cessna 441, Jan 5, 2002
- Rockwell International 690B, Dec 3, 2008
- Piper PA23, Jun 2, 2020
Browse: Puerto Rico · 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.
