Bell 206-L4 accident near Wainwright, AK
On July 20, 2023, a Bell 206-L4 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Wainwright, AK. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 20, 2023
- Place
- Wainwright, AK
- Aircraft
- Bell 206-L4 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 70.654°N, 158.560°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230721192675
Official records · ANC23FA056
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 20, 2023, about 1105 Alaska daylight time, a Bell 206L-4 helicopter, N311MH, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Wainwright, Alaska. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand charter flight. The helicopter was owned and operated by Maritime Helicopters and was under an exclusive use contract to the State of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), being used to transport scientific crews to various remote locations within the North Slope region. Maritime Helicopters’ Director of Operations reported that the accident helicopter and DNR crew members were based in Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, for the duration of the contract. He added that when the accident helicopter departed from Utqiagvik, about 1001, the anticipated route included a brief stop at the Atqasuk Airport, Atqasuk, Alaska, and then continuing to remote sites to the east of Wainwright, before ultimately returning to Utqiagvik. The accident helicopter was expected to return to Utqiagvik by 2030. When the helicopter did not arrive back in Utqiagvik, a North Slope Borough (NSB) Search and Rescue Sikorsky S-92 helicopter was dispatched to search for the missing helicopter. The partially submerged, fragmented helicopter wreckage was found in the shallow waters of Lake Itinik, about 30 miles east of Wainwright. Lake Itinik is a large, oval shaped, arctic lake, measuring more than three miles across in some areas. The terrain around Lake Itinik consis
Probable cause
The pilot's decision to fly at a low altitude over a large body of water toward featureless terrain, which resulted in a loss of visual clues and controlled flight into terrain.
More accidents in AK
- Beech 1900C, Nov 23, 1987
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- Cessna 208, Oct 10, 2001
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Browse: Alaska · 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.
