# Incident 20090329003029I: Bell 206L3, Abilene, TX, March 29, 2009

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 29, 2009, 18:15 local time
- Place: Abilene, TX
- Airport: Abilene Regional
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Other, Specify
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: EVCA
- Location: 32.4506° N, 99.7302° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.4506&lon=-99.7302&mi=10
- Aircraft: N708M (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BELL 206L3
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 3,918 total, 2,247 in this make and model, 64 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN09IA234](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09IA234) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090329003029I

## Narrative

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

ON MARCH 29, 2009 AT 1240 CDT, BH 206 L-3, N708M, OPERATED BY EVAC, ACCEPTED AN AIR MEDICAL MISSION FROM HENDRICK HOSPITAL, IN ABILENE TO UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER (UMC) IN LUBBOCK, TEXAS ARRIVING AT 1356 CDT.  THE FLIGHT WAS UNEVENTFUL.  THE CREW DEPARTED UMC AND REFUELED AT KLBB IN LUBBOCK, TEXAS.  THE CREW FLEW FROM KLBB AT 1706 CDT AND ARRIVED AT HEDRICK HOSPITAL AT 1815 CDT, WHERE THE PILOT PERFORMED A POST FLIGHT INSPECTION AND FOUND A LARGE CRACK IN THE MAIN ROTOR BLADE.

## 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 CEN09IA234](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09IA234), Mar 29, 2009: Bell 206L-3 (N708M), Abilene, TX, incident, minor damage. Probable cause: The formation and propagation of a fatigue crack in the trailing edge of the main rotor blade due to interconnected porosity and resultant corrosion. The area of interconnected porosity was due to a…

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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