19810614032379A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Bell 204B · Ketchikan, AK · June 14, 1981

Date
June 14, 1981 · 07:00 local
Place
Ketchikan, AK
Phase of flight
Hovering
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Destroyed
Aircraft
N288PH
NTSB investigation
NTSBANC81FA063
Reported as
Bell 204B
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
2,060 total1,046 in this make and model113 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Unknown to pilot, mechanic had misplaced ballast weight. Pilot lost control after passengers debarked. Tried hover.

As the FAA filed it

UNKNOWN TO PILOT, MECHANIC HAD MISPLACED BALLAST WEIGHT. PILOT LOST CONTROL AFTER PASSENGERS DEBARKED. TRIED HOVER.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.