20020825023499A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Bell 206L1 · Wisdom, MT · August 25, 2002

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal NTSB investigation search

Date: August 25, 2002 · 15:00 local
Place: Wisdom, MT
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N832AH
Reported as: Bell 206L1

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) Pilot stated he was doing usfs forest firefighting work, water bucket props. Conditions were smoky. He said he was not aware the rotors had struck anything until damage to two rotors was discovered in this post-flight aircraft inspection. The rotors sustained substantial trailing edge damage requiring rotor replacement.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) PILOT STATED HE WAS DOING USFS FOREST FIREFIGHTING WORK, WATER BUCKET PROPS. CONDITIONS WERE SMOKY. HE SAID HE WAS NOT AWARE THE ROTORS HAD STRUCK ANYTHING UNTIL DAMAGE TO TWO ROTORS WAS DISCOVERED IN THIS POST-FLIGHT AIRCRAFT INSPECTION. THE ROTORS SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL TRAILING EDGE DAMAGE REQUIRING ROTOR REPLACEMENT.