20100602036089A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Bell 222U · Midlothin, TX · June 2, 2010

Date: June 2, 2010 · 14:00 local
Place: Midlothin, TX
Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Destroyed
Aircraft: N515MK
NTSB investigation: NTSBCEN10FA291
Reported as: Bell 222U
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 2
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Airline transport
Pilot’s flight hours: 5,300 total931 in this make and model27 in the last 90 days

N515MKRegistration cancelled Feb 18, 2011 · Bell 222US/N 47515 Airframe modelBell 222U

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.

The helicopter was in cruise flight at approximately 600 feet above ground level (AGL) when several witnesses saw the tail boom and the main rotor system separate from the helicopter. The fuselage was destroyed in an immediate post-impact fire. The main rotor mast separated just below the head. The main rotor system including the hub and blade assembly, pitch change links, and walking beam assembly remained connected to the swash plate assembly and impacted terrain approximately 200 feet northeast of the main wreckage. The entire tail boom assembly separated just aft of the fuselage and impacted terrain approximately 400 feet northeast of the main wreckage.

As the FAA filed it

THE HELICOPTER WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT APPROXIMATELY 600 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL) WHEN SEVERAL WITNESSES SAW THE TAIL BOOM AND THE MAIN ROTOR SYSTEM SEPARATE FROM THE HELICOPTER. THE FUSELAGE WAS DESTROYED IN AN IMMEDIATE POST-IMPACT FIRE. THE MAIN ROTOR MAST SEPARATED JUST BELOW THE HEAD. THE MAIN ROTOR SYSTEM INCLUDING THE HUB AND BLADE ASSEMBLY, PITCH CHANGE LINKS, AND WALKING BEAM ASSEMBLY REMAINED CONNECTED TO THE SWASH PLATE ASSEMBLY AND IMPACTED TERRAIN APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET NORTHEAST OF THE MAIN WRECKAGE. THE ENTIRE TAIL BOOM ASSEMBLY SEPARATED JUST AFT OF THE FUSELAGE AND IMPACTED TERRAIN APPROXIMATELY 400 FEET NORTHEAST OF THE MAIN WRECKAGE.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB CEN10FA291Accident · 2 fatalField investigationFinal reportMidlothian, TXThe fracture of a swashplate drive pin as a result of hydrogen embrittlement due to an unknown source, which resulted in an in-flight breakup of the main rotor system during cruise flight.Jun 2, 2010 · Substantial damage