# Accident 20240120000769A: Bell 206L-3, Hydro, OK, January 20, 2024

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 20, 2024, 23:00 local time
- Place: Hydro, OK
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: EVCA
- Location: 35.5493° N, 98.5518° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.5493&lon=-98.5518&mi=10
- Aircraft: N295AE, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N295AE) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 206L-3 (registry code 1182108, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206l-3) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250-C30 series (registry code 03015, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c30-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 206L-3
- Reported engine: ALLISON 250-C30 SER
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 3
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 6,400 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN24FA094](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN24FA094) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240120000769A

## Narrative

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

ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 2024, A BELL LONG RANGER 206 HELICOPTER WAS RETURNING TO HOME BASE AFTER A PATIENT TRANSFER . APPROXIMATELY 25 MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT IT WAS REPORTED TO HAVE CRASHED THAT RESULTED IN THE FATALITY OF ALL THREE CREW MEMBERS ON BOARD AND DESTROYING THE AIRCRAFT. THE CRASH SITE SPANNED HALF A MILE WITH DEBRIS SUGGESTIVE OF A POSSIBLE BIRD STRIKE INVOLVING CANADIAN GEESE. THERE WAS NO INVOLVEMENT OF AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES AND ADS-B DATA REVEALED NO PRIOR ANOMALIES; AIRSPEED AND ALTITUDE WERE STABLE UNTIL THE DATA CEASED.

## 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 CEN24FA094](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN24FA094), Jan 21, 2024: Bell 206 (N295AE), Hydro, OK, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: The helicopter’s inflight collision with cackling geese, resulting in an inflight breakup.

## Other reports on N295AE (1)

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

- [Incident 20090408004769I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090408004769I), Apr 8, 2009: Bell 206L3 (N295AE), Vick, TX, Minor damage. (-23) On April 8, 2009, at approximately 0035 CDT, N295AE departed brady, Texas to transport a patient to san angelo, Texas. Twenty-five minutes into the…

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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