# Accident 19990810011649A: Bell 206B, Custer, SD, August 10, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 10, 1999, 17:30 local time
- Place: Custer, SD
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.7603° N, 103.6009° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.7603&lon=-103.6009&mi=10
- Aircraft: N67JJ, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N67JJ) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 206B (registry code 1181511, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 206B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI99FA285](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI99FA285) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990810011649A

## Narrative

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

ACFT INVOLVED IN A SIGHTSEEING OPERATION WHEN IT CRASHED IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, 2 POB SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES, 3 OTHERS HAVE SERIOUS INJURIES, THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED. (.19) ON AUGUST 10, 1999, AT 1730 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A BELL 206B, N67JJ, OPERATED BY RAPID HELICOPTERS INCORPORATED, WAS DESTROYED ON IMPACT WITH TREES AND TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING OVER CUSTER STATE PARK, SOUTH DAKOTA.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.  THE 14 CFR PART 91 SIGHTSEEING FLIGHT WAS NOT OPERATING ON A FLIGHT PLAN.  THE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES; TWO OF THE PASSENGERS SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES, AND THE REMAINING PASSENGER SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED, AT APPROXIMATELY 1715, FROM A PRIVATE HELIPORT LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE.                                       (-23) DARREN R. MALLOW, PILOT OFN67JJ, BHT 206B, WAS ON A SIGHT-SEEING OPERATION AND CRASHED IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.  THERE WERE 5 PEOPLE ON BOARD. THE PILOT AND RIGHT REAR PASSENGER RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES AND THE OTHER THREE PASSENGERS WERE MINOR/SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE AIRCRAFT DAMAGE IS ESTIMATED AS DESTROYED.

## 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 CHI99FA285](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI99FA285), Aug 10, 1999: Bell 206B (N67JJ), Custer, SD, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance from the trees. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadvertent settling with power.

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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