# Accident 19980525010489A: Bell 206L3, Monroe, NC, May 25, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 25, 1998, 00:32 local time
- Place: Monroe, NC
- Airport: Monroe Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: USXR
- Location: 34.9795° N, 80.5409° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.9795&lon=-80.5409&mi=10
- Aircraft: N96CW, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N96CW-2000-01-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 206L-3 (registry code 1182108, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206l-3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 206L3
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C30P
- People aboard: 5
- Fatal injuries: 5
- Pilot flight hours: 5,300 total, 262 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL98FA080](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98FA080) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980525010489A

## Narrative

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

FLYING IN FOG 150FT AGL STRUCK STATIC GROUND WIRE OF A POWER LINE. CRASHED ONTO HIGHWAY.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        (.4) ACCORDING TO US HELICOPTERS, INC., THE PILOT WAS CONDUCTING PASSENGER TRANSPORT FROM THE CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY TO VARIOUS DESTINATIONS IN THE CHARLOTTE AREA. THE PILOT WAS ON HIS LAST TRIP OF THE DAY, AND DEPARTED THE SPEEDWAY WITH FOUR PASSENGERS ON BOARD DESTINED FOR THE MONROE AIRPORT. PRIOR TO DEPARTING THE SPEEDWAY, THE PILOT INFORMED A CO-WORKER THAT WEATHER AT THE TIME WAS VFR WITH 3 MILES VISIBILITY. ACCORDING TO THE CO-WORKER, THE PILOT HAD LAST REPORTED THAT HE WAS PROCEEDING EAST ALONG HIGHWAY 74, ABOUT 0025. WITNESSES, IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA, SAID THEY OBSERVED THE HELICOPTER FLYING LOW, IN FOG, WITH ITS LIGHTS ON. THE REPORT FROM THE MONROE ASOS (AUTOMATIC SURFACE OBSERVATION SYSTEM) LOCATED ON MONROE AIRPORT WAS 300 FEET OVERCAST SKY CONDITION, 1.75 MILES VISIBILITY IN MIST. AT ABOUT 0032 THE HELICOPTERS SKIDS CONTACTED A HIGH-TENSION STATIC GROUND WIRE ABOUT 150 FEET ABOVE 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 ATL98FA080](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98FA080), May 25, 1998: Bell 206L-3 (N96CW), Indian Trail, NC, destroyed, 5 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain altitude while operating in adverse weather. A contributing factor was the incoming fog and high tension static wire.

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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