Bell 407 accident near Cabazon, CA
On August 7, 2023, a Bell 407 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Cabazon, CA. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 7, 2023
- Place
- Cabazon, CA
- Aircraft
- Bell 407 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 33.914°N, 116.807°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230807192807
Official records · WPR23FA302
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 6, 2023, about 1844 Pacific daylight time, a Bell 407, N555AS, and a Sikorsky S-64, N4037S, collided mid-air near Cabazon, California. The Bell was destroyed and the pilot and two qualified non-crewmembers were fatally injured. The Sikorsky sustained minor damage and the pilot and copilot were not injured. Both helicopters were operated as public-use firefighting aircraft. Before their respective flights, each flight crew was briefed on their mission. The Bell 407 was tasked as a Helicopter Coordinator (HLCO) training flight while the Sikorsky Skycrane was dispatched to support fire operations. The Skycrane received their dispatch instructions about 15 minutes before their departure. Review of the communication recording from within the Skycrane shows that the recording started at 0:00 lapse time (refer to figure 1). Figure 1. Recorded ADS-B data with select communications annotated. At 01:18, the Bell 407 made a call to Hemet Base Victor Dispatch (Hemet Tower) requesting a bearing and distance to the fire. ADS-B data revealed that the Bell 407 departed from HMT about 1834 (02:37) and traveled north-northeast for about 2 nm then maneuvered to the north. HMT was about 3.5 miles from the edge of the FTA’s 12-nm Initial Communication Ring. The ADS-B flight track of the Bell 407 could not be correlated with the positioning of the Skyrcrane, which was based on CVR audio. At 04:17, the Skycrane PIC initiated a 10-sec conversation with the SIC stating the Bell 407 was “going too” [to support the incident] and was either an HLCO or a training platform. Th
Probable cause
The Skycrane flight crew’s decision to enter the Fire Traffic Area’s 7-nm NOCOM ring at an altitude significantly above their maximum cleared altitude, which resulted in their need for an aggressive descent into congested airspace and subsequent failure to see and avoid the Bell 407.
More accidents in CA
- Douglas MD-83, Feb 1, 2000
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32, Aug 31, 1986
- British Aerospace BAE-146-200, Dec 8, 1987
- Beech C-99, Aug 24, 1984
- Sikorsky S-61N, Aug 6, 2008
Browse: California · 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.
