Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Prosser, Washington 99350
Tuesady, June 8, 2004 18:50 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a right turn the helicopter's tail rotor became entangled in a power line. Pulling collective in an attempt to land on a road, the helicopter swung to the right and the main rotor struck another power line. As the pilot banked away from the second power line he seemed to gain some control of the aircraft before it impacted the ground. The helicopter came to rest in an upright position on its skids. No pre-accident anomalies with the helicopter were noted which would have precluded normal operations.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the power lines while maneuvering.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/8/2004
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1850
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Prosser
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99350
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 461046N
Event Location Longitude 1194802W
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 1853 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 70
Weather Observation Facility ID PSC
Elevation of weather observation facility 407
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 27
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.91
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16436
NTSB Notification Source Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Jun 8 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1950
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 29 2004 1:02PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Spokane, Washington

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N213SD
NTSB Number SEA04LA102
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Bell
Aircraft Model 206B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3109
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 Apr 1 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 60
Airframe Hours 17000
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Heliworks Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2400 Airport Blvd.,
Aircraft Owner City Pensacola
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 32504
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code XNCA
Owner has at least one certificate None
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 --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code PSC
Departure City Pasco
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1800
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Prosser
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 5 2004 3:04PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --