Bell 206 accident near St Thomas, CB
On February 15, 2021, a Bell 206 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near St Thomas, CB. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- February 15, 2021
- Place
- St Thomas, CB
- Aircraft
- Bell 206 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 18.354°N, 65.028°W
- NTSB ID
- 20210216102634
Official records · ERA21FA130
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 15, 2021, about 1514 Atlantic standard time, a Bell 206B-III, N13AT, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 sightseeing flight. According to the Director of Operations, the accident flight was a planned 17-minute sightseeing flight around the island. A witness standing in his front yard saw the helicopter fly over his house and out over the ocean. He stated that the helicopter began to make a 180° turn back toward him, at which time he began recording a video of the helicopter. About 6 seconds after the start of the video, a puff of dark-colored smoke emanated from the vicinity of the engine compartment and dissipated in the helicopter’s rotor wash. The helicopter then abruptly yawed nose-left, then yawed nose-right, and descended in a right turn over wooded terrain downhill from the witness. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The accident site was located in heavily wooded, steep terrain and the wreckage came to rest upright oriented on a heading of about 200° magnetic. The landing skids, main rotor system, main rotor drive system, engine, hydraulic system, and the forward portion of the tail rotor drive system were thermally damaged by a postimpact fire. The majority of the cockpit, cabin, and flight controls were consumed by fire. A portion of the tailboom, with the horizontal stabilizers attached, was embedded upright in a tree adjacent to the main wreckage. The aft
Probable cause
A total loss of engine power due to fatigue failure of two of the stage 3 compressor blades. Contributing to the failure of the compressor blades was the failure of maintenance personnel to inspect the compressor at the recommended interval for operation in corrosive environments.
More accidents in CB
Browse: United States · 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.
