# Incident 19971024044749I: Bell 206B, Houston, TX, October 24, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 24, 1997, 20:00 local time
- Place: Houston, TX
- Airport: Clover Field Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Pwr On Vertical Ldng/Rtrcrft
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.7633° N, 95.3633° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Houston, TX, within about 14 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.7633&lon=-95.3633&mi=10
- Aircraft: N61US (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BELL 206B
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 12,000 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971024044749I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: HELICOPTER PILOT LANDED DURING THE HOURS OF DARKNESS IN A CONFINED AREA BETWEEN TWO ROWS OF T-HANGARS TO ASK DIRECTIONS AND HIT A "TRIPLEX" POWER LINE STRUNG ACROSS THE TAXIWAY BETWEEN THE HANGARS. EYEWITNESS SAW A SPARK BY THE TAIL ROTOR WHEN THE LIGHTS IN HIS OWN HANGAR WENT OUT. HE THOUGHT THE HELICOPTER WAS "OUT OF CONTROL" AND HE WAS "READY TO RUN". REPAIR COSTS TO THE POWERLINE TOTALED $161.58, AND THERE WAS SUPERFICIAL DAMAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LEFT SKID TUBE (SCRATCHES AND APPARENT BURN MARKS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE LEFT SKID TUBE).

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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