Bell UH1B accident near Forks, WA
On March 8, 2019, a Bell UH1B (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Forks, WA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 8, 2019
- Place
- Forks, WA
- Aircraft
- Bell UH1B · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 48.101°N, 124.095°W
- NTSB ID
- 20190308X50301
Official records · WPR19FA091
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn March 8, 2019, at 0705 Pacific daylight time, a Richards Heavylift Helo Inc (Bell) UH-1B helicopter, N64RA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Forks, Washington. The pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 133 external load operation. The operator was conducting heli-logging operations using a hydraulic grapple attached to a cargo line that was secured to the helicopter by the cargo hook. The helicopter was staged at a remote location located about 1/4 mile from the accident site. Typically, the pilot would depart the staging area, fly to the logging site, establish the helicopter in an out of ground effect hover, grapple a log, and return to the staging area, where the log would be released. The pilot would repeat the process throughout the day. A part time pilot with the company stated that the cargo line they used was 180 feet in length. He stated the standing trees were about 40 to 50 feet below the helicopter when they were grappling a log. On the day of the accident, a helicopter mechanic located at the staging area assisted the pilot in the preflight inspection of the helicopter in preparation for a day of heli-logging activity. The mechanic stated that he observed a normal engine start, run-up and takeoff. The mechanic continued with his morning activities, and while walking into the maintenance support trailer, he heard three distress calls from the pilot over the company radio. Several coworkers heard the same distress calls on their radios, and they a
Probable cause
A total loss of engine power due to the failure of the gas generator sealing disk as a result of the operator’s exceedance of the sealing disk life limits at too low an altitude for the pilot to accomplish a successful autorotation which resulted in the collision with terrain.
More accidents in WA
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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.
