ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 299099
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| Date: | Tuesday 18 April 2000 |
| Time: | 09:21 LT |
| Type: |  Bell 206L-3 |
| Owner/operator: | Mountain States Telephone |
| Registration: | N937S |
| MSN: | 51258 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1988 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4832 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce 250C30P |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | LAKEWOOD, Colorado -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | KREMMLING , CO (20V) |
| ENGLEWOOD , CO (APA | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During initial descent at the completion of a cross-country flight, the pilot heard a loud bang from the rear of the helicopter and manipulation of the tail rotor control became ineffective. The pilot performed an autorotation to a landing in a field, which sloped up about 6 degrees and was rough and uneven. During landing with about 5 knots forward speed, the lower wire cutter dug into the ground and the skids collapsed twisting the cross tubes aft. The main rotor blades were not damaged and the tail booms buckled downward at the forward attach point. The pilot performed a normal shut down and he and his passenger exited the helicopter with no injuries. Examination of the helicopter following the event revealed that both tail rotor blades had separated approximately 9 inches outboard of the hub. Laboratory tests revealed that one tail rotor blade failed from fatigue. The fatigue origin occurred at the protective strip trailing edge inboard of the outboard tip of the blade doubler. Inspection at the origin revealed the fatigue was a result of chemical machining/etching that took place during the manufacturing process.
Probable Cause: The complete loss of the tail rotor blades due to a fatigue failure of one blade. Factors were sloping and rough uneven terrain for the ensuing forced landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB DEN00FA074
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 15 April 1994 | N937S | Mtn States Tele & Telegraph | 0 | Englewood, CO | |
sub |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Oct-2022 02:30 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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