Bell UH-1H accident near Chapelle, NM

On July 17, 2022, a Bell UH-1H (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Chapelle, NM. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

July 17, 2022

Place

Chapelle, NM

Aircraft

Bell UH-1H · Helicopter

Injuries

4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

35.380°N, 105.237°W

NTSB ID

20220717105488

Official records · CEN22FA317

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• Gps & Communication Device - Specialist's Factual Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Gps & Communication Device - Attachment 1 (Tabular Data): Document (CSV), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 16, 2022, about 1920 mountain daylight time, a Bell UH-1H, N911SZ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Chapelle, New Mexico. The pilot, two tactical flight observers, and the rescue specialist sustained fatal injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 41 United States Code public aircraft flight. After completing several firefighting missions in support of the New Mexico Forestry Division, the helicopter was fueled at Las Vegas Municipal Airport (LVS), Las Vegas, New Mexico. The helicopter departed LVS about 1838 and flew to the dip site/staging area, operated at the firefighting location, then flew back to the staging area where the remainder of the crew was loaded for the return flight to Double Eagle II Airport (AEG), Albuquerque, New Mexico. About 1915, the helicopter departed the staging area to the west. The last automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data, recorded at 1920, showed the helicopter about 0.5 mile east of the accident site. The helicopter was level, 500 to 600 ft above ground level on a westbound course with a groundspeed of 133 knots (kts). Onboard flight data indicated that, at 1920:01, the helicopter entered a 484 ft-per-minute (fpm) descent at a groundspeed of 133 kts. The helicopter subsequently began to descend rapidly, and at 1920:13, the last recorded flight data indicated a descent rate of 5,433 fpm and groundspeed of 102 knots. Two witnesses observing the sunset from a ridge about 0.5 mile east of the accident site reported that the helicopter flew past their location wes

Probable cause

The total loss of engine power due to the fatigue failure of the starter-generator input (zerol) gear which failed due to poor maintenance. Contributing to the accident was the unsuccessful autorotation complicated by the setting sun and high density altitude.

More accidents in NM

• Gates Learjet 25D, Sep 5, 1993
• Piper PA-32-300, Dec 26, 1982
• Mitsubishi MU-2B-30, Jun 25, 1992
• Cessna 421C, Feb 11, 1985
• Beech 58, Mar 26, 1982

Browse: New Mexico · Bell aircraft

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.