Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Grand Canyon National Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Grand Canyon, Arizona 86023
Sunday, September 9, 2012 11:52 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On August 9, 2012, at 1152 mountain standard time (MST), a Bell 206L-1, N5745Y, made a forced autorotation following a loss of engine power near Grand Canyon, Arizona. Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters was operating the helicopter under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The commercial pilot and passenger were not injured. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail boom when it was struck by one of the main rotor blades. The local flight departed Grand Canyon at 1131 MST. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported that during a maintenance release flight, he attempted to enter a simulated autorotation to check the main rotor rpm. The pilot stated that when he retarded the throttle the engine quit. During the landing, a main rotor blade impacted the tail boom causing it to depart the airframe. The helicopter had just completed a scheduled 100-hour maintenance inspection.
The helicopter was recovered from the landing site for further examination.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/9/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1152 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Grand Canyon |
| Event State | ARIZONA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 86023 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 354807N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1120405W |
| Event Location Airport | Grand Canyon National Park |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | GCN |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 11 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 6609 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1054 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 340 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GCN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 6006 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| 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) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 45 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.03 |
| 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) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA WP Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 26 2012 5:50PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5745Y |
| NTSB Number | WPR12LA408 |
| 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 HELICOPTER TEXTRON |
| Aircraft Model | 206L-1 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 45531 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4150 |
| 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 | 7 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 8 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0 |
| Airframe Hours | 26520 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | MONARCH ENTERPRISES INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | KIRKLAND |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 98034 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | PAPILLON AIRWAYS INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Grand Canyon |
| Operator State | AZ |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 86023 |
| Operator Code | PG9A |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | PG9A174H |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | GCN |
| Departure City | Grand Canyon |
| Departure State | AZ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1131 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | GCN |
| Destination City | Grand Canyon |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 26 2012 5:47PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |