# Accident 20061125023389A: Bell 206L3, Brownwood, TX, November 25, 2006 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 25, 2006, 16:50 local time - Place: Brownwood, TX - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Pwr Off Vert Land/Autorotate - Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135) - Operator: EVCA - Location: 31.7129° N, 98.9771° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Brownwood, TX, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.7129&lon=-98.9771&mi=10 - Aircraft: N805SB (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: BELL 206L3 - Reported engine: ALLSN 250C30 - People aboard: 3 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 6,743 total, 2,143 in this make and model, 140 in the last 90 days - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20061125023389A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED DAMAGE TO THE TAIL CONE AND SKIDS DURING AN EMERGENCY LANDING AS A RESULT OF AN UNCONTAINED CATASTROPHIC GAS TURBINE FAILURE DURING CRUISE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT OR PASSENGERS. PILOT STATEMENT: CREW: PILOT: MYSELF, NURSE: ^PRIVACY D^, MEDIC: ^PRIVACY DAT^ TIME OF EVENT 1723 CST LOCATION OF LANDING SITE: 31 92.593/099 01.304 WX: REPORTED FROM KBWD AWOS: CLEAR, WINDS 150/010, TEMP ABOUT 18 C. I CAME ON DUTY AT NORMAL TIME FOR A 0700 TURNOVER. I HAD BEEN RELIEVED THE NIGHT BEFORE AT 1900 AT NORMAL TIME. THE AIRCRAFT HAD NOT FLOWN THE NIGHT BEFORE. I COMPLETED ALL THE PREFLIGHT ITEMS, AIRCRAFT, WEATHER, DUTY LOG, ETC. I HAD TO CALL IN THE CREW CHANGE/LINEUP, AS THE WEB PAGE HAS BEEN DOWN FOR A FEW DAYS (THIS ENTIRE HITCH). MY RA FOR THE DAY WOULD BE 15. WE RECEIVED OUR FIRST SCENE CALL AT ABOUT 1126, FOR A PATIENT PICKUP AT THE CIVIC CENTER IN GOLTHWAITE. THIS PATIENT WAS FLOWN TO SCOTT & WHITE HOSPITAL IN TEMPLE, TX. WE ATE LUNCH AT THE HOSPITAL CAFETERIA, THEN DEPARTED AT 1346 FOR TEMPLE AIRPORT TO REFUEL. I TOPPED OFF AND THEN STARTED FOR BASE. AT 1437 AND 31 32.4/098 15.7, WE RECEIVED A CALL FROM DISPATCH AND WERE DIVERTED TO COMMANCHE COUNTY HOSPITAL FOR A PATIENT TRANSFER TO ABILENE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER. WE DEPARTED COMMANCHE COUNTY AT 1514, ARRIVED ABILENE REGIONAL MED CENTER AT 1551. WE DEPARTED ABI REGIONAL AT 1625 AND FLEW TO KABI TO REFUEL AT ABILENE AERO. WE TOOK ON 52 GALLONS, AGAIN I TOPPED OFF AS I KNEW WE WOULD HAVE A 15-20 KNOT HEADWIND ON THE WAY HOME. WALKAROUND WAS NORMAL. WE WERE RETURNING FROM KABI, DEPARTING KABI (ABILENE AERO/REFUEL) AT 1646. THE GPS SHOWED A LITTLE OVER 3 MINUTES FROM BASE, SO I GAVE A FIVE MINUTE CALL TO DISPATCH (I ALLOW MYSELF TWO MINUTES FOR APPROACH). I DON'T REMEMBER THE TIME I CALLED, BUT DISPATCH DID READ IT BACK. FUEL ON BOARD WAS APPROXIMATELY 580-600 LBS. SHORTLY AFTER THAT I LOWERED THE COLLECTIVE TO START A DESCENT. SHORTLY AFTER STARTING THE DESCENT, THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION, A LEFT YAW AND I SAW DEBRIS IN MY PERIPHERAL VISION. I ALSO NOTICED THE OVERTEMP LIGHT ILLUMINATED. I ENTERED AN AUTOROTATION AND SECURED THE THROTTLE, AND GOT OUT A QUICK MAYDAY CALL TO DISPATCH. SHE ASKED FOR MORE INFORMATION, BUT I IGNORED HER REQUEST AS I WAS BUSY WITH OTHER THINGS. I WILL GUESSTIMATE MY ALTITUDE AT ABOUT 600-700 AGL. I WENT STRAIGHT AHEAD ON MY GLIDEPATH (ABOUT A 135 HEADING), OVER A SMALL LAKE, A TREE AND A 5 FOOT BERM (OR DAM). I DID RAISE THE COLLECTIVE TO GET OVER THIS LAST OBSTACLE, SUBSEQUENTLY LOSING TURNS AND LEFT AT ABOUT TEN FEET. FORWARD SPEED WAS MINIMAL. WE DROPPED VERTICALLY FROM THIS POINT. I SECURED THE AIRCRAFT BATTERY AND FUEL VALVE AS THE CREW EGRESSED TO THE FRONT OF THE AIRCRAFT. I DID NOT APPLY THE ROTOR BRAKE, LETTING THE ROTOR SYSTEM COAST TO A STOP. ON SHORT FINAL I REMEMBER THE NURSE ADVISING ME TO FLARE, AND I REMEMBER TELLING THE CREW THAT WE WOULD LAND HARD AS I RAN OUT OF TURNS (NR) AND SUBSEQUENT LIFT. I WROTE DOWN THE TIME AND GPS COORDINATES JUST PRIOR TO EGRESSING. I THEN CALLED DISPATCH (I BELIEVE THE CREW HAD ALSO DONE THIS WHILE THEY WERE WAITING ON ME TO EGRESS). AS I WAS SPEAKING TO THE DISPATCHER I STARTED WALKING TO THE REAR OF THE AIRCRAFT ON THE RIGHT SIDE. I NOTICED A FIRE IN THE ENGINE BAY; PUT THE PHONE DOWN, GOT THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER OUT OF THE COCKPIT AND PUT THE FIRE OUT. THE FIRE WAS ON THE FUEL LINE DIRECTLY UNDER THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER AND WAS VERY SMALL. I ALSO NOTICED THAT THE POWER TURBINE SECTION WAS A DULL RED, AND THIS SEEMED ABNORMAL TO ME. AT THIS POINT I PICKED UP THE PHONE AND CONTINUED MY WALK AROUND AND DESCRIPTION TO THE DISPATCHER. THE TWO VERTICAL FINS WERE SHEARED ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF THE WAY UP AND THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT COVER WAS TORN. THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT WAS NOT SEVERED, BUT IT WAS BENT SEVERELY, THE TAIL ROTOR STILL TURNS WITH THE MRB. THE MRB SHOWS INDICATION OF STRIKING THE TAIL BOOM AND VERTICAL FINS (SCRATCHES ON THE LOWER SURFACE OF THE BLADE, SAME LOCATION AS THE TRIM TAB). THE SKIDS WERE SPREAD DUE TO THE VERTICAL DROP. I DID NOT GET A CHANCE TO GET A CLOSE LOOK AT THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE UNTIL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SHOWED WITH A SMALL STEP LADDER. I HAD NOTICED (FROM THE GROUND LEVEL) THAT THE SCREENS ON THE LEFT ENGINE BAY DOOR HAD BEEN BLOWN OUT. AFTER I GOT A LADDER, I WAS ABLE TO LOOK AT THE ENGINE ITSELF AND NOTICED THAT THE POWER TURBINE CASE HAD SPLIT OPEN. IT WAS CRACKED IN SEVERAL PLACES AND A FEW PIECES WERE MISSING. THE HEAT SHIELD UNDER THE ENGINE WAS BENT AS WELL HAVING BEEN DISPLACED DOWNWARD. AFTER THE MECHANIC ARRIVED, HE NOTICED THAT THE UPPER COWLING HAD A HOLE IN IT AS WELL, WITH DEBRIS BEING BLOWN OUT JUST BEHIND THE EXHAUST STACK. THE AIRCRAFT ENDED UP JUST INSIDE A GOVERNMENT EASEMENT, BUT THE OWNER OF THE ADJACENT PROPERTY WAS THERE (WITH HIS DEER RIFLE). WE MISSED HIS LAND BY ABOUT TEN FEET. THE AIRCRAFT IS CORDONED OFF WITH CRIME SCENE TAPE AND CONES, AND THE MECHANIC AND NIGHT CREW PILOT ^PRIVACY DA^ ARE STAYING WITH THE AIRCRAFT TONIGHT AND I WILL RELIEVE HIM IN THE MORNING. AT THE TIME OF THE FINAL TOUCHDOWN, WE HAD BEEN FLYING A TOTAL OF 3.8 HOURS, BUT NOT CONTINUOUSLY (SEE ABOVE). AT EACH STOP I HAD ROTATED THE BLADES BACKWARDS TWO TO THREE TURNS AND COMPLETED A WALKAROUND, BOTH AFTER LANDING AND BEFORE TAKE OFF. THE ENGINE OIL LEVEL WAS WITHIN LIMITS AT KABI, OUR LAST STOP BEFORE RETURNING HOME. IT ALL HAPPENED PRETTY FAST, NOT MUCH TIME TO THINK, JUST ACT. OF COURSE, I'LL BE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS, OR OTHER INFORMATION YOU NEED AND WILL ADVISE YOU OF ANYTHING ELSE I CAN THINK OF. ## NTSB investigation None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.