# Accident 20001002015879A: Bell 206L1, Jasper, TX, October 2, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: October 2, 2000, 09:00 local time - Place: Jasper, TX - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Low Level Operations - Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137) - Operator: SJYG - Location: 30.7697° N, 94.4200° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.7697&lon=-94.4200&mi=10 - Aircraft: N321CA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N321CA-2002-07-25) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Bell Helicopter Textron 206L-1 (registry code 1182107, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-206l-1) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Allison 250-C30 series (registry code 03015, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c30-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BELL 206L1 - Reported engine: ALLSN 250C28B - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 22,911 total, 2,661 in this make and model, 251 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW01LA004](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01LA004) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001002015879A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) PILOT TOOK OFF WITHOUT ENERGIZING ATTITUDE AND DIRECTIONAL GYROS. ENCOUNTERED HAZE INTENSIFIED BY EARLY MORNING SUN. INADVERTENTLY STRUCK A TREE WITH THE LEFT SPRAY BOOM CAUSING A/C TO OSCILLATE SEVERELY. APPLIED POWER CAUSING A/C TO CLIMB INTO SOLID IMC CONDITIONS. THE GYROS WERE ACTIVATED TOO LATE TO BE EFFECTIVE. (.4)ON OCTOBER 2, 2000, AT 0900 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A BELL 206L-1 HELICOPTER, N321CA, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT IMPACTED TREES AND TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING NEAR JASPER, TEXAS. THE HELICOPTER WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY CHEM AIR, INC., OF SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA. THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED COMMERCIAL HELICOPTER PILOT, WHO WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC) PREVAILED AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 137 AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT. THE HELICOPTER DEPARTED FROM A FIELD APPROXIMATELY 0830. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WAITED FOR THE FOG TO LIFT, DEPARTED, AND SPRAYED A FIELD. THE PILOT THEN LANDED TO REFUEL WITH HIS GROUND CREW PRIOR TO SPRAYING ANOTHER FIELD LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 17 MILES AWAY. THE PILOT DEPARTED AND WAS FLYING TO THE OTHER FIELD WHEN HE ENCOUNTERED IMC AT A LOW ALTITUDE. THE PILOT INITIATED A TURN TO THE LEFT TO EXIT IMC AND ATTEMPTED TO CAGE HIS ATTITUDE INDICATOR. DURING THIS TIME, THE HELICOPTER IMPACTED A TREE WITH ITS SPRAY BOOM, AND THE PILOT THEN ASCENDED INTO THE FOG. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE HELICOPTER WAS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL AND HE WAS HAVING PROBLEMS SEEING THE GROUND. THE PILOT REPORTED TO THE GROUND CREW THAT HE WAS LOSING CONTROL OF THE HELICOPTER. SUBSEQUENTLY THE HELICOPTER IMPACTED THE TREES. WITNESSES, LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 50 YARDS FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE, STATED THAT THEY HEARD THE HELICOPTER FLY OVER THEIR HOUSE "VERY LOW." THEY THEN HEARD SOME "LOUD BANGING NOISES AND THEN THE HELICOPTER NOISE DISAPPEARED." THE WITNESSES ASSUMED THAT THE HELICOPTER HAD CRASHED AND WENT OUTSIDE TO RENDER AID. THE WITNESSES SAID THAT THEY CALLED FOR THE PILOT AND GOT A REPLY. THE WITNESSES FOUND THE HELICOPTER AND THE PILOT IN A HEAVILY WOODED AREA NEAR THEIR HOUSE. THEY ADDED THAT THEY COULD HEAR THE ENGINE SPOOLING DOWN AS THEY NEARED THE ACCIDENT SITE. ONE OF THE WITNESSES REPORTED THAT IT WAS "VERY FOGGY" AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. AT 0855, THE WEATHER OBSERVATION FACILITY AT THE A.L. MANGHAM JR. REGIONAL AIRPORT, LOCATED IN NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS, 45 MILES NORTHWEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, REPORTED THE SKY AS OVERCAST AT 100 FEET AGL, WITH 1.25 STATUTE MILES VISIBILITY. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT/OPERATOR AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT, THE 22,911-HOUR PILOT HAD ACCUMULATED 10 HOURS OF SIMULATED INSTRUMENT FLYING, AND NO ACTUAL INSTRUMENT FLIGHT EXPERIENCE. ## 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 FTW01LA004](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01LA004), Oct 2, 2000: Bell 206-L1 (N321CA), Jasper, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in his failure to maintain control of the helicopter. Factors were the fog and the pilot's lack of… 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.