Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Bryce, Utah 84776
Saturday, December 1, 2001 12:15 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The helicopter was fueled to capacity the evening before, and the engine compartment was preheated before departure. Preflight inspection revealed no frost on the airframe or rotor blades. The particle separator was clean and dry. Engine start and takeoff were normal. After crossing a highway 1/2 mile south from the heliport, at an airspeed "in excess of 50 mph [and] at an altitude of approximately 50-70 feet," the engine "flamed out." There was a noticeable yaw and the pilot heard "the sound of the engine shutting off." He autorotated towards a highway right-of-way. The helicopter struck the ground hard and slid 20 to 30 feet. "Mast bumping" broke the rotor head off. It struck the rear of the helicopter, severing the tail section. The helicopter spun around and rolled over on its right side. Postaccident examination disclosed no fuel remaining because the rear skid leg had punctured the fuel tank. The pilot and his two passengers had been drenched with fuel when they evacuated the helicopter. All fuel lines and fuel filter were intact, free of debris, and contained fuel. The turbine and compressor turned freely by hand. The pilot said he noted dirt on the inside of the cap "consistent with the dirt at the crash site." Later, he wrote that "the dirt on the inside of the fuel cap was orange, the same color as at the heliport. The dirt at the crash site is more brown native soil." He noted vehicle tracks in the snow behind the helipad. Footprints led from the tire tracks to a small dirt pile and back to the helipad. Suspecting the helicopter may have been sabotaged, the pilot contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) field office in St. George, Utah. He said that in the 6 years the company has been doing business in the Bryce Canyon area, he had been slandered, vandalized, and threatened with death. According to the FBI special agent, his agency would not become involved unless there was "conclusive evidence" that a crime had been committed.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
loss of engine power for reasons undetermined. Contributing factors were the low airspeed and altitude at which to perform an autorotation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/1/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1215 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Bryce |
| Event State | UTAH |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 84776 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1209 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 355 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BCE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7586 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 4 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1300 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 150 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.13 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 6971 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 3 |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 12509 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA COMM CTR |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 1 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1330 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 6 2002 3:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Salt Lakle City, Utah |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N911KH |
| NTSB Number | DEN02LA013 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | 206B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1855 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3200 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 5 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 18 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 24 |
| Airframe Hours | 1016 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | N911KH Corp. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. Box 7346 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Las Vegas |
| Aircraft Owner State | NV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 89125 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Alladin Air Service |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 1260 Highway 12 |
| Operator City | Bryce |
| Operator State | UT |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 84764 |
| Operator Code | AQ6A |
| Owner has at least one certificate | -- |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | UT77 |
| Departure City | Bryce |
| Departure State | UT |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1215 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Descent |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 29 2002 10:45AM |
| User who most recently changed record | MCBM |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | Yes |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |