# Accident 20001222027769A: Bell 206L3, Willcox, AZ, December 22, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 22, 2000, 03:31 local time - Place: Willcox, AZ - Airport: Cochise County Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Pwr On Vertical Ldng/Rtrcrft - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Operator: IBUA - Location: 32.4294° N, 109.8798° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.4294&lon=-109.8798&mi=10 - Aircraft: N288JB, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N288JB-2001-07-27) (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: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 4,088 total, 650 in this make and model, 68 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01LA063](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA063) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001222027769A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23)A/C WAS ON THE RETURN LEG OF AN AIR MEDICAL FLIGHT WHEN THE PILOT ADVISED THE MEDICAL CREW THAT HE WAS NOT FEELING WELL. THE CREW MADE A DECISION TO LAND AT WILCOX AIRPORT RATHER THAN RETURN TO WILCOX HOSPITAL DUE TO THE PILOT'S MEDICAL CONDITION. WHILE MAKING THE FINAL APPROACH TO LANDING THE PILOT BECAME MEDICALLY INCAPACITED CAUSING HIM TO LOSE CONTROL OF THE A/C. THE A/C STRUCK THE GROUND CAUSING THE SKIDS AND MAIN ROTOR TO DEPART THE A/C. ADDITIONALLY, PARTS OF THE MAIN CABIN AND THE TAIL BOOM WERE SEPARATED FROM THE A/C. (.4) ON DECEMBER 22, 2000, AT 0331 HOURS MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A BELL 206-L3 HELICOPTER, N288JB, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN THE PILOT BECAME ILL AND LOST CONTROL 20 FEET PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN AT COCHISE COUNTY AIRPORT, WILCOX, ARIZONA. CRITICAL AIR MEDICAL WAS OPERATING THE HELICOPTER UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT AND TWO CREWMEMBERS SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. THE POSITIONING FLIGHT DEPARTED THE TUSCON MEDICAL CENTER ABOUT 0300, AFTER DELIVERING A PATIENT, AND WAS RETURNING TO ITS BASE AT THE NORTH COCHISE COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER IN WILCOX. VISUAL METEOROLOGIC AL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND A COMPANY VFR FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. THE PILOT TOLD THE OPERATOR'S CHIEF PILOT HE TRIED TO DRINK A GLASS OF TEA ABOUT 2 HOURS BEFORE THE MISSION, BUT DISCARDED IT BECAUSE IT TASTED BAD. THE PILOT SAID HE FELT A LITTLE DISCOMFORT DURING THE MISSION WHEN HE DETECTED THE TEA TASTE AGAIN. AFTER THE MISSION HE REPORTED THAT HE FELT BETTER, AND DID NOT EXPECT ANY PROBLEMS ON THE RETURN TO BASE. ABOUT 5 MINUTES FROM THE BASE HOSPITAL, THE PILOT SAID NAUSEA, SWEATING, AND CRAMPS SUDDENLY OVERCAME HIM, AND HE BEGAN TO RETCH. HE SAID IT WAS A DARK, MOONLESS NIGHT, AND ROUGH TERRAIN WAS BELOW HIM. THE AIRPORT WAS AT HIS 12 O'CLOCK POSITION AT 5 MILES, SO HE ELECTED TO FLY THERE RATHER THAN ATTEMPT AN OFF-AIRPORT LANDING. HE REQUESTED A SICK SACK ABOUT 1 MINUTE PRIOR TO LANDING. ABOUT 20 FEET ABOVE THE TOUCHDOWN POINT, THE PILOT DOUBLED OVER DUE TO SEVERE CRAMPING. THIS MOVED THE CYCLIC FORWARD AND TO THE RIGHT. THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES CONTACTED THE GROUND, AND THE HELICOPTER CAME TO REST ON ITS SIDE. ## 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 LAX01LA063](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA063), Dec 22, 2000: Bell 206-L3 (N288JB), Wilcox, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's incapacitation that resulted from nausea during the final approach to landing. The pilot collapsed on the cyclic, which precipitated inadvertent contact between the main rotor blades and… 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.