# Accident 20151015020769A: Bell 206L-3, Dickinson, AL, October 15, 2015

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 15, 2015, 16:00 local time
- Place: Dickinson, AL
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Other, Specify
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: 2CSG
- Location: 31.7592° N, 87.6994° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.7592&lon=-87.6994&mi=10
- Aircraft: N206CJ, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N206CJ) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 206L-3 (registry code 1182108, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206l-3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250-C20 series (registry code 03020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c20-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 206L-3
- Reported engine: ALLISON 250-C20 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 21,000 total, 6,500 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA16LA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16LA015) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20151015020769A

## Narrative

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

PILOT HAD BEEN CONDUCTING AGRICULTURAL HELICOPTER OPERATIONS ALL DAY. ON SECOND TO LAST PASS, JUST AS HE WAS GOING TO INITIATE LEFT TURN TO REPOSITION FOR THE NEXT PASS AND WHILE AT 75 -100 FEET AGL , THE PILOT HEARD A LOUD POP SOUND.  PILOT THEN EXPERIENCED A COMPLETE LOSS OF TAIL ROTOR CONTROL.  THE HELICOPTER SPUN TO THE RIGHT.  PILOT MAINTAINED MAIN ROTOR POWER AND USED COLLECTIVE TO CUSHION DESCENT INTO THE PINE TREES ADJACENT TO THE FIELD HE HAD BEEN SPRAYING.  HELICOPTER HIT THE GROUND IN A LEFT SIDE NOSE DOWN POSITION AND CAME TO REST ON ITS LEFT SIDE.  INVESTIGATION FOUND THAT THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT HAD BROKEN IN TWO PLACES AND THAT A BOLT WAS MISSING FROM THE MOST FORWARD COUPLING OF THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT.  DRIVE SHAFT WAS SHEARED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SHORT SHAFT AND IN THE MID SECTION OF THE SHAFT.

## 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 ERA16LA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA16LA015), Oct 15, 2015: Bell 206L 3 (N206CJ), Dickinson, AL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The improper installation by company maintenance personnel of the securing hardware of a tail rotor driveshaft section, which resulted in that section of tail rotor driveshaft disconnecting and 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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