# Accident 19980320003959A: Bell 206B, Santa Clarita, CA, March 20, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 20, 1998, 17:40 local time
- Place: Santa Clarita, CA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Prw On Run Landing (Rotorcraft
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.3917° N, 118.5426° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Santa Clarita, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.3917&lon=-118.5426&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3186L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3186L-2009-09-22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 206B (registry code 1181511, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250-C20 series (registry code 03020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c20-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 206B
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C20J
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,000 total, 1,200 in this make and model, 42 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX98TA123](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98TA123) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980320003959A

## Narrative

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

ON MARCH 19, 1998, AT 1740 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A BELL 206B, N3186L, COLLIDED WITH A POWER LINE AND CRASHED IN A DRY RIVERBED DURING AN APPROACH FOR LANDING IN A FIELD NEAR SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA. THE HELICOPTER SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND THE COMMERICAL PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE HELICOPTER WAS OPERATED BY THE LOS ANGELES CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT AS A PUBLIC USE AIRCRAFT. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE VAN NUYS, CALIFORNIA, AIRPORT AT 1645. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS MAKING A NORMAL APPROACH TO THE RIVERBED ON A SOUTHWESTERLY HEADING DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN. HE REPORTED THAT 'MOMENTS BEFORE I HIT THE WIRES, I SAW THEM AND MADE AN EVASIVE MANEUVER TO AVOID THEM.' HE THEN CLIPPED THE WIRE WITH THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES AND AS HE ATTEMPTED TO TURN AWAY, HE CLIPPED THE TAIL ROTOR. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE THEN FLEW THE HELICOPTER TO THE GROUND AND MADE GROUND CONTACT IN A LEVEL ALTITUDE. THE HELICOPTER LANDED HARD AND ROLLED OVER ONTO ITS RIGHT SIDE. THE SERIES OF WIRES WERE AT A MEASURED HEIGHT OF 39 FEET AGL AND SPANNED LENGTHWISE APPROXIMATELY 1200 FEET BETWEEN POLES OR OTHER MARKINGS. THE SUN AND MOON POSITION INFORMATION FOR THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT SHOWED THE SUNS POSITION TO BE AT 4.6 DEGREES ABOVE THE HORIZON. THE SUNS AZIMUTH WAS 252 DEGREES. OFFICAL SUNSET THAT EVENING WAS AT 1808. (-23)DURING APPROACH TO LANDING IN RIVER BOTTOM, FIRE DEPARTMENT HELICOPTER PILOT ATTEMPTED TO AVOID WIRES ACROSS RIVER, STRUCK WIRES, SUSTAINED STRUCTURAL DAMAGE AND MADE A HARD LANDING.  PILOT MADE APPROACH INTO SUN.

## 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 LAX98TA123](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX98TA123), Mar 20, 1998: Bell 206B (N3186L), Santa Clarita, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of the pilot to maintain adequate clearance with the wires. Additional factors in this accident are the position of the sun at that time of the day, which made it difficult to see the…

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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