ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 355632
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| Date: | Thursday 3 July 1997 |
| Time: | 14:45 LT |
| Type: |  Bell 206B |
| Owner/operator: | American Aviation, Inc. |
| Registration: | N49661 |
| MSN: | 1826 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1975 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 14426 hours |
| Engine model: | Allison 250-C20B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | New Iberia, LA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Taxi |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
After loading the external basket with seismic wire bundles weighing about 300 to 400 pounds, the pilot flew the external load attached to a 100 foot long-line cable to the staging field. He made an approach to the landing area into the wind, and placed the basket on the ground; however, he did not release it. He moved the helicopter to the left side of the basket and then descended laterally to the left approximately 20 feet to a hover height of about 10 feet. As he hovered the helicopter forward about 10 to 15 feet, he felt a jolt. The helicopter nosed down to the left and came to rest on its right side. The company's procedure for repositioning the helicopter to land with an external load attached was that 'the cable must remain in visual contact with the pilot at all times.' The pilot was to 'lay the cable out in front of or to the side of the pilot position in full view of the pilot.' The pilot successfully completed a Part 133 evaluation on 6/18/97. At the time of employment, the pilot had 42 hours of experience in long-line external load operations. Since then, he had accumulated approximately 25 flight hours of additional experience.
Probable Cause: the pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision. A related factor was his failure to follow the company procedure of maintaining visual contact with the external long-line cable, while hovering with it attached.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB FTW97LA252
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Mar-2024 14:00 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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