ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 355971
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| Date: | Wednesday 23 April 1997 |
| Time: | 16:00 LT |
| Type: |  Bell 206-L1 |
| Owner/operator: | Western Area Power Admin. |
| Registration: | N618DE |
| MSN: | 45370 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 7981 hours |
| Engine model: | Allison 250-C30P |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Trinidad, CO -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Las Vegas, NM (KLVS) |
| Pueblo, CO (KPUB) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During a VFR cross country flight from Farmington, New Mexico, to Ft. Collins, Colorado, while descending north of Raton Pass, the pilot encountered a low-lying cloud in his intended flight path. He initiated a right turn to avoid the cloud, and during the turn increased power to initiate a climb, to avoid the rising terrain off the right side of the helicopter. During the climbing right turn, the aircraft slowed and directional control was lost. The pilot stated that 'the aircraft began to spin to the right, with the addition of power increasing the rate of turn. I attempted to decrease power to slow my rate of turn to the right, which resulted in an increased rate of descent.' The aircraft impacted the ground while turning right and came to rest on its right side.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter due to a loss of tail rotor effectiveness. A factor was the tailwind condition and the pilot's failure to maintain proper airspeed.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB FTW97TA165
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 14 March 2006 | N370RL | Rotorcraft Leasing Company LLC | 2 | Patterson, LA | |
w/o |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Mar-2024 17:38 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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