Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bonapart Lake Canada
Sunday, August 17, 2003 11:05 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A Gemini Helicopters' Bell 204B, registration number C-GEAP, crashed shortly after takeoff after making a water drop during fire suppression operations. A high pitch oscillating sound was heard and the helicopter descended rapidly, hitting the ground and killing the pilot. A post impact fire ensued which destroyed the helicopter cabin area and transmission casing. The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the government of Canada. Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from: Transportation Safety Board of Canada 200 Promenade du Portage Place du Centre, 4th Floor Hull, Quebec K1A 1K8 Canada Tel.: (1) 819-994-4252 (1) 819-997-7887 (24 hour) E-mail: airops@tsb.gc.ca Fax: (1) 819-953-9586 Website: http://www.tsb.gc.ca This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information obtained for, or released by, the Government of Canada.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/17/2003
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1105
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Bonapart Lake
Event State --
Event Country CANADA
Zipcode of the event site --
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 8
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 --
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source --
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions --
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury --
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency Foreign
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) --
NTSB Notification Source
NTSB Notification Date Dec 1 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 18 2007 10:28AM
User who most recently changed record defc
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number --
NTSB Number ENG04WA004
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Non-U.S., Non-Commercial
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire --
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Bell
Aircraft Model 204B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number --
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name --
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country CA
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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) Air Drop
Second Pilot on Board --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Bonapart Lake
Departure State --
Departure Country CA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Bonapart Lake
Destination State --
Destination Country CA
Specific Phase of Flight Climb - to cruise
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 2 2011 9:41AM
User who most recently changed record grol
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --