Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Big Creek, Kentucky 40914
Friday, February 17, 2006 9:50 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot of the helicopter was en route to pick up passengers, when approximately 16 miles prior to his intended destination, he landed in a field due to deteriorating weather conditions. During a cellular telephone conversation with his employer, it was decided that the pilot should reverse course, land at a nearby airport, or return to the helicopter's base. The pilot took off from the field and attempted to fly directly to an airport, but was again unable to follow his desired course due to weather. As he maneuvered, the weather improved, the ridgelines were visible, and the pilot was able to fly "about 100 feet above the trees, and 200 feet below the clouds" as he approached a field that was crossed by a power line. The pilot said he chose to land in the field because of a "klunking" noise behind him. "As I entered the approach the noise got worse and the aircraft started to vibrate. The vibrations got very bad as I tried to arrest my descent, so I decided that touching down hard was better than shaking apart." Examination of the global positioning system ground track revealed that the helicopter descended at a rate of 1,000 feet per minute during an s-turn across the face of a mountain before it leveled over flat terrain, and slowed below effective translational lift, in the vicinity of the crash site. The crash site was surrounded by rising terrain, in the lee of a mountain with strong winds, and an AIRMET for turbulence was in effect along the route of flight. The helicopter experienced a high sink rate and high levels of vibration prior to ground contact. According to The Good Aviation Practices publication Helicopter Performance, published by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (November 2002), "Local terrain, trees, and buildings all influence the flow of wind near them. The mechanical turbulence resulting from this disturbed airflow may become very marked in the lee of the obstruction. A gusting wind situation where windshear is likely to be present will require a greater power margin to deal with any unexpected loss of airspeed and sink." Examination of the wreckage and a post accident engine run revealed no preimpact anomalies.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadvertent settling with power during a descent. Contributing to the accident was mechanical turbulence in the lee of an obstruction in windy conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/17/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 950 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Big Creek |
| Event State | KENTUCKY |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 40914 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 370523N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0833254W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 953 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 250 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | LOZ |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1212 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 25 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 1 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 330 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 14 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.41 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 23738 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA SROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 17 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 30 2008 11:48AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Louisville, KY |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N36HF |
| NTSB Number | NYC06LA062 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| 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 | 1886 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3200 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 4 |
| Airframe Hours | 10800 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | -- |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Helicopter Flite Services |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 290 Eagle Mountain Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | Charleston |
| Aircraft Owner State | WV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 25311 |
| 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 | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Positioning |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | CRW |
| Departure City | CHARLESTON |
| Departure State | WV |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 710 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 1A6 |
| Destination City | MIDDLESBORO |
| Destination State | KY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 3 2008 3:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | grer |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |