# Accident 20031216036839A: Bolkms BK117A3, Okeechobee, FL, December 16, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 16, 2003, 19:07 local time
- Place: Okeechobee, FL
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: BAQA
- Location: 27.1472° N, 80.3306° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.1472&lon=-80.3306&mi=10
- Aircraft: N911WJ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N911WJ-2004-04-22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: MBB BK 117 A-3 (registry code 5626015, https://openairdocs.org/model/mbb-bk-117-a-3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming LTS-101 series (registry code 41560, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-lts-101-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BOLKMS BK117A3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 3,100 total, 250 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL04LA055](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04LA055) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031216036839A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON DECEMBER 16, 2003, AT 1908 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A MBB, BK 117A3, N911WJ, OPERATED BY CJ SYSTEMS AVIATION GROUP INC., AS A 14 CFR PART 91 POSITIONING FLIGHT, COLLIDED WITH TREES AND THE GROUND DURING AN INADVERTENT ENCOUNTER WITH INSTRUMENT FLIGHT CONDITIONS IN CRUISE FLIGHT. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT BRIAN KEITH SWINNEY, PILOT CERTIFICATE NUMBER 265457919 WITH ROTORCRAFT-HELICOPTER/COMMERCIAL PILOT AND INSTRUMENT HELICOPTER/COMMERCIAL PILOT RATINGS STATED THAT HE SAW LIGHTS AND TURNED TOWARDS THE LIGHTS. HE SLOWED THE HELICOPTER DOWN AND LOST SIGHT OF THE LIGHTS. HE MADE A RIGHT TURN TO THE SOUTH AND ENCOUNTERED VERTIGO. HE IMMEDIATELY LOOKED DOWN AT HIS FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS AND OBSERVED THE ARTIFICIAL HORIZON WAS ABOVE THE HORIZON, AND THE AIRSPEED WAS DECREASING. HE LOWERED THE NOSE OF THE HELICOPTER TO REGAIN AIRSPEED AND THE HELICOPTER BEGAN TO SETTLE. THE NOSE OF THE HELICOPTER WENT TO THE RIGHT AND DOWN. HE LOOKED BACK AT HIS FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS WITH THE ATTITUDE INDICATOR SHOWING THE HELICOPTER WAS INVERTED AND THE VERTICAL SPEED INDICATOR INDICATED A 1,000 FOOT A MINUTE DESCENT. HE IMMEDIATELY APPLIED CYCLIC PITCH AND ROLLED THE HELICOPTER TO THE UPRIGHT POSITION AND PULLED COLLECTIVE PITCH TO POWER. THE HELICOPTER COLLIDED WITH THE TREES IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION AND FELL TO THE GROUND. AN ON SITE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE HELICOPTER DESCENDED IN A VERTICAL POSITION WITH FULL POWER WHEN IMPACTING THE GROUND. THE ROTOR BLADES SEVERED SEVERAL TREES DURING THE DESCENT AND SCATTERED DEBRIS IN AN ARCH OF APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET. THE TAIL ROTOR WAS SEPARATED WHEN THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH A TREE ON THE GROUND.

## 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 ATL04LA055](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04LA055), Dec 17, 2003: MBB BK117A3 (N911WJ), Okeechobee, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions and experienced spatial disorientation, loss of aircraft control, and in-flight collision with trees and terrain. Factors…

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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