ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 272858
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| Date: | Thursday 30 December 2021 |
| Time: | 11:41 |
| Type: |  Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III |
| Owner/operator: | 206B LLC |
| Registration: | N8AU |
| MSN: | 4089 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1990 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Livingston, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Livingston Municipal Airport, TX (00R) |
| Livingston, TX | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On December 30, 2021, about 1141 central standard time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N8AU, was substantially damaged during an accident near Livingston, Texas. The pilot and one passenger were fatally injured, and two passengers received minor injuries. The flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Passengers reported that the helicopter flight was a sightseeing flight won at a local charity auction. The flight began normally with the intention to fly over the front-seat passenger’s childhood home but diverted to the passenger’s current home due to low clouds along the original route. The rear-seat passengers stated that the helicopter flew down the road where the residence was located and then around the house making a level right turn at low speed. The helicopter then flew over a pond on the property and toward the house. As the helicopter approached the house it was facing a southerly direction and came to a hover above the trees where the accident occurred. The passengers stated that the helicopter was either motionless in the hover or slightly drifting. The helicopter then began to rotate to the right, completing 2 revolutions while descending. The helicopter rotors struck trees and then fell onto a pile of wood that had been stacked due to land clearing activities.
Postaccident examination of the helicopter did not reveal any preimpact anomalies and a passenger reported that the helicopter’s engine was still running after the accident.
Video evidence showed that just before the accident the helicopter was operating with about 89% torque and in a hover about 150 ft above the ground, and no engine anomalies were recorded. Aviation weather reports indicated that the helicopter may have been facing into a slight wind of about 3 knots (kts); however, the lack of nearby official weather reporting stations, and the variability of unofficial weather reporting stations, made the wind determination inconclusive.
Loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE) can be affected by numerous factors that could not be conclusively eliminated. Based on the lack of evidence of a mechanical failure, passenger witness accounts, and video showing the helicopter’s instrument panel after the initiation of the rotation, the helicopter likely sustained an aerodynamic loss of tail rotor effectiveness that resulted in an exceedance of the yaw capability of the helicopter during a high-power hover maneuver at low altitude, from which the pilot was unable to recover.
Probable Cause: The pilot exceeding the yaw control capability of the helicopter for the flight conditions, resulting in a non-mechanical loss of tail rotor effectiveness.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2021/12/30/texas-dps-1-dead-3-injured-after-helicopter-crash-near-cut-and-shoot-in-polk-county/
https://abc13.com/texas-helicopter-crash-livingston-chopper-accident/11407559/
https://bluebonnetnews.com/2021/12/30/livingston-man-killed-in-helicopter-crash/
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/polk-county-helicopter-crash/285-97ab11ab-892b-4133-8c5b-9251941f3313
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=104459
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=8AU
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N8AU/history/20211230/1709Z/00R/L%2030.68697%20-94.89845
https://www.airport-data.com/images/aircraft/000/304/304536.jpg (photo)
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Media:
A 54-year-old man died at the scene. Two other passengers and the pilot were all taken to area hospitals for treatment. https://t.co/4chNFo1VBt
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) December 30, 2021
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Dec-2021 22:29 | Geno | Added |
| 30-Dec-2021 22:38 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 30-Dec-2021 23:00 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 30-Dec-2021 23:29 | Aerossurance | Updated [Damage, Narrative] |
| 30-Dec-2021 23:36 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative] |
| 30-Dec-2021 23:38 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 30-Dec-2021 23:45 | RobertMB | Updated [Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
| 31-Dec-2021 00:57 | johnwg | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
| 01-Jan-2022 20:36 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Jan-2022 00:20 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 20-Apr-2024 21:58 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Phase, Source, Narrative, Accident report, Photo] |
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