ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 280680
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| Date: | Friday 15 December 1989 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Bell 206B Jet Ranger |
| Owner/operator: | LGH Aviation Ltd |
| Registration: | G-TREE |
| MSN: | 2826 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Lovelands Farm, Lovelands Lane, near Chobham, Surrey -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Great Milton, Oxfordshire |
| Fairoaks Airport, Chobham, Surrey (EGTF) |
Bell 206B Jet Ranger G-TREE was substantially damaged on 15 December 1989 in a forced landing at Lovelands Farm, Lovelands Lane, near Castle Green, Chobham, Woking, Surrey.
On the afternoon of 15 December 1989 Bell Jet Ranger G-TREE was on a flight from Great Milton in Oxfordshire to Fairoaks Airfield near Woking, Surrey when, just two nautical miles out from its destination, it yawed to port and the engine pitch dropped. Presuming the cause to be an engine problem, the pilot decided to make an immediate auto-rotational landing. He chose a field in which to do so but by now the main rotor speed was down to idle and fully opening the throttle produced no change in this situation.
He tried to make a distress call to the Fairoaks tower but, due to continuous R/T transmission on its frequency, the helicopter had descended to 350 feet before he made contact. Being distracted by this supplementary problem, his focus was taken off his landing until he realized that, now, he was going to overshoot the field selected for his forced landing.
Thus he chose another position but as he approached that, at about 70 feet and 60 knots, he saw his landing run would take him into or over a large ditch. He reacted by raising the collective lever and was able to pass over the ditch at about 20 feet but, with rapidly decaying main rotor rpm and forward airspeed, the helicopter's subsequent landing was heavy.
As a result its skids were splayed and it bounced, swung some 120 degrees to port and next made contact with the ground some 10 metres on. The splayed skids seemingly dig into the ground, pitching the helicopter forward until this momentum was arrested when the lower cabin windows made contact with the ground. By now the main rotors had made contact with the tail boom, cutting through and detaching it. The pilot then shut down the engine and applied the rotor brake, but this did not immediately arrest the rotation of the rotors. The helicopter having settled upright and the risk of fire not being present, the pilot kept his four passengers aboard until the rotors had almost come to a halt, at which point all five people were able to exit the helicopter, unaided and uninjured, through the normal doors.
On subsequent examination of the helicopter it transpired that the cause of the engine problem was that the compressor discharge air pressure pipe had become disconnected from the fuel control unit. The effect of this was to restrict the flow of fuel to a level below that required to keep the main rotors at ground idle speed. This pipe had been refitted during maintenance of the helicopter just over two months previously. Whether it was not fitted correctly or came loose is not mentioned in the AAIB report. But the helicopter had flown for twenty uneventful hours between the maintenance and the incident on 15 December 1989.
G-TREE was built in 1979, and initially registered in the USA as N2779U. It was first UK registered on 15 June 1987 and has had four UK owners since. Still flying 2022 as G-TREE (last re-registered 16 November 2015)
Sources:
1. AAIB Final Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/542302b3e5274a1317000bcb/Bell_206B_III__G-TREE_03-90.pdf
2. https://www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/G-TREE/917181
3. https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N2779U
4. https://www.helis.com/database/cn/46875/
5. https://checkmypostcode.uk/gu248ds#.Ytsze2jx6Bg
Media:
G-TREE Bell Helicopters Jet Ranger 206B at Coventry 26/05/14:
G-TREE Bell Jet Ranger 206 Helicopter at Gloucestershire Airport, 2 April 2016, 10:58:
.jpg)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Jul-2022 23:35 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
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