# Accident 19950920032669A: Bell 206L, Ware, IL, September 20, 1995

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 20, 1995, 04:20 local time
- Place: Ware, IL
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: DFMA
- Location: 37.4503° N, 89.2595° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.4503&lon=-89.2595&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2777W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2777W-1996-08-07) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell Helicopter Textron 206L-1 (registry code 1182107, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-206l-1) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 206L
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C28B
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 4,290 total, 3,131 in this make and model, 78 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI95LA327](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI95LA327) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19950920032669A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ENCOUNTERED WEATHER EN ROUTE TO ACCIDENT SCENE. BEGAN 180 TO RETURN VFR. LOST CONTROL. UNABLE TIMELY CHANGE TO IFR. (-23) ON SEPTEMBER 20, 1995 AT APPROXIMATELY 0400 CDT, BELL HELICOPTER N2777W, WITH THREE (3) PERSONS ABOARD, DEPARTED SOUTHEAST MISSOURI HOSPITAL, CAPE GRIARDEAU, MO ON A FAR PART 135 AIR AMBULANCE FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT WAS DISPATCHED TO PICK UP A VEHICLE ACCIDENT VICTIM AT A REMOTE SITE IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. WHILE ENROUTE, THE PILOT STATED THAT HE ENCOUNTERED INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HAD DECIDED TO RETURN TO HIS DEPARTURE POINT. THE PILOT THEN STATED THAT HE ENTERED A LEFT TURN AND WAS UNABLE TO TRANSITION TO INSTRUMENT FLIGHT. HE STATED THAT HE LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT AND SAW THE GROUND JUST PRIOR TO IMPACT. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A LEVEL PITCH ATTITUDE CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. THE PILOT, FLIGHT NURSE AND FLIGHT MEDIC RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. THERE WERE NO OTHER INJURIES TO ANY PERSONS ON THE GROUND OR OTHER PROPERTY DAMAGE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI95LA327](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI95LA327), Sep 20, 1995: Bell 206L (N2777W), Ware, IL, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter. A factor in the accident was the pilot's inadvertent VFR flight into IMC conditions.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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