Pilot Debrief

BELL 206B near Valley Falls, KS — 2012-05-02

Final reportCEN12LA267
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Date
2012-05-02
Location
Valley Falls, KS, USA
Aircraft
BELL 206B
Registration
N85RB
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Hover

Probable cause

The pilot’s inadequate compensation for the wind conditions during a hover maneuver, which resulted in a loss of tail rotor effectiveness.

NTSB narrative

The helicopter, with the pilot and two passengers aboard, was hovering about 100 to 150 feet above ground level with a quartering tailwind. As the pilot turned the helicopter to the right, the helicopter started to spin, as reported by the pilot and several witnesses. He applied full left pedal and left forward cyclic, and slightly reduced power to stop the rotation. The pilot added that he sensed the loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE) and continued with the control inputs to fly out of the LTE. The pilot was unable to regain control of the helicopter before it impacted the ground. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the flight conditions at the time, the accident sequence is consistent with the helicopter encountering a LTE event.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have avoided high-power, low-airspeed maneuvers in tailwind conditions.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 5 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents5

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