# Accident 20011022039529A: Bell OH58A, Bartow, FL, October 22, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 22, 2001, 01:05 local time
- Place: Bartow, FL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 27.9528° N, 81.8022° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.9528&lon=-81.8022&mi=10
- Aircraft: N911DB, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N911DB-2002-03-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell OH-58A (registry code 1181579, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-oh-58a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL OH58A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,045 total, 230 in this make and model, 115 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA02GA011](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA02GA011) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20011022039529A

## Narrative

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

(-23) THE PUBLIC-USE HELICOPTER, OPERATED BY THE POLK COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, COLLIDED WITH SWAMPY TERRAIN IN AN UNLIGHTED RURAL AREA ABOUT 2.5 MILES NW OF BARTOW MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AT ABOUT 0105 EDT. THE PILOT AND OBSERVER ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED, AND THE HELICOPTER WAS DEMOLISHED. BOTH OCCUPANTS WERE DEPUTIES, AND THEY HAD BEEN CONDUCTING LAW-ENFORCEMENT AERIAL-SURVEILLANCE ACTIVITIES USING NIGHT-VISION GOGGLES (NVG) PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THEY WERE REPORTEDLY ENROUTE TO ANOTHER LOCATION FOR ADDITIONAL SURVEILLANCE WHEN THE MISHAP OCCURRED. THE PIC WAS REPORTEDLY USING NVG FOR THE ENTIRE FLIGHT. DARK-NIGHT VISUAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME, AND WEATHER CONDITIONS REPORTEDLY VARIED BETWEEN IMC AND VMC. AT 0100 EDT, THE NEAREST WEATHER REPORTING SITE AT WINTER HAVEN (GIF) WAS REPORTING 10 STATUTE MILE VISIBILITY AND FEW CLOUDS AT 400 FT., WITH TEMPERATURE AND DEW POINT BOTH AT 23 DEG. C. OTHER LAW-ENFORCEMENT PILOTS FLYING IN THE AREA REPORTED SPORADIC IMC (RAIN SHOWERS & FOG) PASSING THROUGH THE AREA AROUND THE TIME OF THE MISHAP.

## 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 MIA02GA011](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA02GA011), Oct 22, 2001: Bell OH-58A (N911DB), Bartow, FL, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's continued VFR flight into IMC, and his failure to maintain altitude, resulting in an in-flight collision with the ground. Factors in this accident were fog, and dark night.

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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