20020404007759A

Accident · No damage

FAA accident report · Bell 206B · Leadville, CO · April 4, 2002

Date: April 4, 2002 · 21:00 local
Place: Leadville, CO
Airport: Lake County Airport
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: No damage
Aircraft: N997GM
NTSB investigation: NTSBDEN02LA036
Reported as: Bell 206B
Fatal injuries: 0

N997GMRegistration cancelled Apr 22, 2005 · Bell 206BS/N 2366 · Built 1978 Airframe modelBell 206B Engine modelAllison 250-C20 seriesTurbo-prop

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) While flying power line patrol at an altitude of 11,000 to about 12,000 feet asl (400 ft. AGL) encountered a down draft which exceeded the performance capability of the helicopter. Subsequently the aircraft came in hard contact with the snow covered ground.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) WHILE FLYING POWER LINE PATROL AT AN ALTITUDE OF 11,000 TO ABOUT 12,000 FEET ASL (400 FT. AGL) ENCOUNTERED A DOWN DRAFT WHICH EXCEEDED THE PERFORMANCE CAPABILITY OF THE HELICOPTER. SUBSEQUENTLY THE AIRCRAFT CAME IN HARD CONTACT WITH THE SNOW COVERED GROUND.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB DEN02LA036Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportLeadville, COthe pilot's inadvertent flight into adverse weather, which resulted in a collision with terrain. A contributing factor was the downdraft.Apr 4, 2002 · Destroyed