# Incident 20040812021679I: Bell 222U, Rialto, CA, August 12, 2004

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 12, 2004
- Place: Rialto, CA
- Airport: Rialto Municipal/Miro Field Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: To Vertical (Helicopter Only)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: A1UA
- Location: 34.1293° N, 117.4020° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at Rialto Municipal Miro Field, closed, within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1293&lon=-117.4020&mi=10
- Aircraft: N403MA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N403MA-2010-10-21) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 222U (registry code 1182140, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-222u) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 222U
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 12,500 total, 1,600 in this make and model, 82 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040812021679I

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON AUGUST 12, 2004, AT THE RIALTO AIRPORT, RIALTO, CALIFORNIA, A BHT 222U, OPERATED BY LIFENET SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE AFTER THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES CONTACTED THE ENGINE COWLING. THE MECHANIC REPORTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD FLUCTUATING #1 ENGINE OIL PRESSURE AND HE OPENED THE ENGINE COWLING LOCKING IT TO HALF LATCH POSITION. AFTER INSPECTING AND CHECKING WIRING, HE JOINED THE PILOT IN THE COCKPIT TO DISCUSS THE PROBLEM. THE MECHANIC AND THE PILOT DECIDED TO GO FOR A TEST FLIGHT AND AS THEY LIFTED AND WERE CLEARING THE END OF THE TAXIWAY, THEY RECEIVED A RADIO CALL ADVISING THEM THAT THE ENGINE COWLING WAS OPEN. THE MECHANIC REALIZED THAT HE HAD LEFT THE ENGINE COWLING DOOR OPEN. THEY FELT A THUMP ON THE TURN BACK TO THE RAMP, AND AFTER LANDING FOUND THE LEFT ENGINE COWLING DESTROYED AND UNDERSIDE OF THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES DAMAGED.

## Other reports on N403MA (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19960728027839I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960728027839I), Jul 28, 1996: Bell 222U (N403MA), Oceanside, CA, Minor damage. Narrative: the main rotor blades made contact with the upper deflector of the wire strike protection system. Damage was restricted to 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.

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