# Accident 19980402005259A: Bell 206B, Round Top, TX, April 2, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 2, 1998, 08:17 local time
- Place: Round Top, TX
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Scud Running
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.0607° N, 96.6906° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.0607&lon=-96.6906&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7734A, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7734A-1998-10-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 206B (registry code 1181511, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 206B
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C20
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 187 total, 187 in this make and model, 13 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA167](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA167) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980402005259A

## Narrative

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

HELI CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCE, PILOT SUFFERED FATAL INJ, ACFT WAS DESTROYED, ROUND TOP, TX. (.4) THE NON-INSTRUMENT PRIVATE HELICOPTER PILOT ENCOUNTERED FOG AND LOW CEILINGS WHILE EN ROUTE ON A 132 MILE VFR CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT. WITNESSES NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE REPORTED OBSERVING THE HELICOPTER IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE AND HEARING THE SOUND OF IMPACT WITH TREES. VISIBILITY IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS REPORTED BY SEVERAL WITNESSES TO BE AS LOW AS 100 FEET AND AS HIGH AS 1/4 OF A MILE. THE CEILING WAS OBSCURED DUE TO FOG. RESIDENTS IN THE AREA REPORTED THAT FOG HAS A TENDENCY TO FORM THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AROUND SUNRISE. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AND SIGNATURES AT THE ACCIDENT SITE INDICATE THAT THE HELICOPTER IMPACTED THE TREES AND TERRAIN IN A 45 DEGREE NOSE LOW ATTITUDE IN A SLIGHT RIGHT TURN. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED AT 0807 LOCAL TIME AND SUNRISE OCCURRED AT 0619. THE PILOT HAD ACCUMULATED A TOTAL OF 187 FLIGHT HOURS. NO EVIDENCE OF PRE-IMPACT MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS OBSERVED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE. NO ANOMALIES WERE FOUND DURING THE INVESTIGATION THAT COULD HAVE PREVENTED NORMAL FLIGHT OPERATION.                                                            (-23) ACCORDING TO EYE WITNESS THE WEATHER WAS LOW CEILING AND FOG. SHE HEARD THE HELICOPTER CIRCLING, WHEN SHE SAW IT, THE HELICOPTER PITCHED NOSE DOWN APPROXIMATELY 45 DEGREES NOSE DOWN AND CRASHED INTO THE GROUND.

## 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 FTW98FA167](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA167), Apr 2, 1998: Bell 206B (N7734A), Round Top, TX, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's attempted VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing factors were fog, low ceilings, and trees.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.