ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 292547
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| Date: | Saturday 8 October 2022 |
| Time: | 18:02 |
| Type: |  Bell 505 Jet Ranger X |
| Owner/operator: | DWF Heli LLC |
| Registration: | N5DF |
| MSN: | 65340 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2021 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 221 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Iona, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Bokeelia, FL (NA) |
| Fort Myers-Southwest Florida International Airport, FL (RSW/KRSW) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On October 8, 2022, about 1802 eastern daylight time, a Bell 505 helicopter, N5DF, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Fort Myers, Florida. The private pilot and three passengers received serious injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot, who owned the helicopter, was proceeding to a landing zone to drop off passengers. As he initiated his approach, the prevailing wind was a right, quartering tailwind. His approach was near vertical, with no forward airspeed. The helicopter began to rotate to the right, then the rotation accelerated, and the pilot was unable to maintain helicopter control. The helicopter impacted the ground and came to rest on its left side, and the pilot and all three passengers were seriously injured. The main rotor struck a reinforced concrete light pole during the impact sequence, and the main rotor hub and blades separated from the main rotor mast. This resulted in an engine overspeed and blade shedding of the free turbine blades, by design, to prevent rupture of the free turbine disk.
Postaccident examination of the airframe, engine, digital engine control unit, and data from integrated avionics revealed no evidence of a preexisting mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation. Recorded data revealed that during the approach, engine power demand exceeded engine power available, resulting in a loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE), after which the pilot was unable to recover control of the helicopter.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s execution of a landing approach with a right, quartering tailwind, low forward airspeed, and high power demand that, when combined, resulted in a loss of tail rotor effectiveness and helicopter control.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/10/08/four-brought-to-hospital-after-helicopter-crash-in-fort-myers/
https://www.winknews.com/2022/10/08/helicopter-crash-in-iona-on-saturday/?fbclid=IwAR3fY3POcEVjqDFHpIG3_nfOlJse5wx7TPuxT9QEspdAHoRwu9c7A6_uth4
https://news.wgcu.org/2022-10-08/four-injured-after-helicopter-crashes-behind-iona-mcgregor-fire-district-station
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=106087
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=5DF
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a6358f&lat=26.515&lon=-81.936&zoom=17.0&showTrace=2022-10-08&leg=4
https://ionafiredistrict.com/stations/
https://photos-e1.flightcdn.com/photos/retriever/2db8b82c2391363460eaccec8adf9aaf49412b71 (photo)
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Media:
A helicopter with four passengers in Iona crashed Saturday evening.https://t.co/HW3raAB97C
— WINK News (@winknews) October 9, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Oct-2022 01:51 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 09-Oct-2022 02:48 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source] |
| 09-Oct-2022 06:31 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
| 09-Oct-2022 11:24 | Aerossurance | Updated [Phase, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
| 09-Oct-2022 11:27 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 09-Oct-2022 11:27 | Aerossurance | Updated [[Source, Embed code]] |
| 09-Oct-2022 12:34 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Operator, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 31-Oct-2022 19:40 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 27-Apr-2024 17:53 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Source, Damage, Narrative, Accident report, Photo] |
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