# Accident 20260204001189A: Bell 407, Flagstaff, AZ, February 4, 2026

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 4, 2026, 10:17 local time
- Place: Flagstaff, AZ
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.1947° N, 111.6734° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1947&lon=-111.6734&mi=10
- Aircraft: N56AZ, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N56AZ) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 407 (registry code 1182206, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-407) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rolls-Royce 250-C47B (registry code 54585, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-250-c47b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 407
- Reported engine: ROLLS-ROYC 250-C47B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 3,500 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR26FA098](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26FA098) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260204001189A

## Narrative

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

ACCIDENT FLIGHT

ON THE EVENING OF FEBRUARY 4, 2026, AT APPROXIMATELY 10:17 MST (LOCAL) A BELL 407 HELICOPTER, REGISTERED AS ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND OPERATING UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 “PUBLIC USE” WAS DESTROYED FOLLOWING A CRASH AND POST-CRASH FIRE WHILE IN SUPPORT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT ON THE GROUND. THE PILOT AND STATE TROOPER/PARAMEDIC ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED.

BACKGROUND

THE HELICOPTER’S PRESENCE HAD BEEN REQUESTED BY VARIOUS LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN ORDER TO

SUPPORT AN ONGOING ACTIVE SHOOTER TACTICAL SITUATION. THE HELICOPTER TOOK OFF FROM ITS BASE AT

KINGMAN, ARIZONA, AND FLEW ROUGHLY ONE HOUR TO THE SCENE, WHERE THE CREW SET UP A LOOSE ORBIT AROUND THE SCENE.

ADS-B DATA INDICATES THE HELICOPTER MANEUVERING AT VERY LOW AIRSPEED (<10KTS) IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE CRASH. WITNESS VIDEOS PUBLISHED ONLINE APPEAR TO SHOW THE HELICOPTER SPINNING RAPIDLY IN AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT. RING DOORBELL VIDEO OBTAINED BY THE NTSB CAPTURED GOOD QUALITY AUDIO OF THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE ACCIDENT. THIS VIDEO ALSO CAPTURED THE HELICOPTER BEFORE THE IN-FLIGHT BREAK-UP, AS WELL AS THE AIRCRAFT PLUMMETING TO THE GROUND. A DETAILED STUDY OF THIS AUDIO IS BEING CONDUCTED BY BELL HELICOPTER AND NTSB.

FOLLOWING THE INITIAL ON-SITE WRECKAGE EXAMINATION AND DOCUMENTATION OF THE DEBRIS FIELD, THE WRECKAGE WAS RECOVERED ON FEBRUARY 7TH TO A SECURED STORAGE FACILITY IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA.

DEBRIS FIELD

THE WRECKAGE FIELD WAS WIDELY SCATTERED ACROSS A HILLSIDE, VALLEY AND ADJACENT NEIGHBORHOOD. AN

ACTIVE PAIR BNSF RAILROAD TRACKS TRANSECTED THE DEBRIS FIELD. LAW ENFORCEMENT EXTENSIVELY

DOCUMENTED THE DEBRIS FIELD USING BOTH GROUND AND AERIAL ASSETS. THE MAJOR PORTIONS OF THE HELICOPTER WRECKAGE WERE: FUSELAGE, TAIL ROTOR ASSEMBLY, TRANSMISSION/MAIN ROTOR HUB+ 3 MAIN ROTOR BLADES (HENCEFORTH REFERRED TO AS THE MAIN ROTOR ASSEMBLY), AND A SINGLE (ORANGE) MAIN ROTOR BLADE. THE DEBRIS FIELD WAS WIDELY SCATTERED ALONG A NORTH-TO-SOUTH DIRECTION, WHICH APPROXIMATED THE HELICOPTER’S DIRECTION OF FLIGHT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE ORANGE MAIN ROTOR BLADE ROUGHLY DEFINED THE START OF THE DEBRIS FIELD. IT WAS FOUND ROUGHLY 100 METERS NORTH OF THE FUSELAGE, HALFWAY UP THE SIDE OF A LARGE ROCKY HILL. THE TAIL ROTOR ASSEMBLY WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 75 METERS DIAGONALLY WEST FROM BOTH THE ORANGE MAIN ROTOR BLADE AND THE FUSELAGE, NEAR THE BASE OF THE SAME LARGE HILL. THE FUSELAGE CAME TO REST ON A DIRT SERVICE ROAD, WHICH RAN ALONG THE BASE OF THE LARGE HILL AND PARALLEL TO THE BNSF RAILROAD TRACKS. THE MAIN ROTOR ASSEMBLY CAME TO REST IN THE VALLEY ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE BNSF RAILROAD TRACKS, ROUGHLY 300 METERS SOUTH OF THE FUSELAGE. SMALLER PIECES OF DEBRIS WERE WIDELY SCATTERED ACROSS THE LARGE HILL, VALLEY, RAILROAD TRACKS, AND AN ADJACENT NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE THE ACTIVE SHOOTER SITUATION HAD TAKEN PLACE EARLIER.

INITIAL WRECKAGE EXAMINATION

THE FUSELAGE WAS ESSENTIALLY FLATTENED BY IMPACT FORCES AND MOSTLY CONSUMED BY A POST-CRASH FIRE. THE FUSELAGE APPEARS TO HAVE LANDED SQUARELY ON ITS RIGHT SIDE, IN A NOSE-LEVEL, 90-DEGREE RIGHT BANK. THE LANDING SKIDS HAD FRACTURED AND SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE, BUT WERE LOCATED IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT. THE TAIL BOOM HAD SEPARATED AT THE AFT BULKHEAD, AND THE ROOF OF THE FUSELAGE HAD SEPARATED WITH THE MAIN ROTOR ASSEMBLY. THE ENGINE REMAINED WITHIN THE GENERAL CONFINES OF THE ENGINE BAY, ALTHOUGH ALL ENGINE MOUNTS HAD FRACTURED IN OVERLOAD.

THE WRECKAGE LAYOUT AND EXAMINATION WAS CONDUCTED ON FEBRUARY 8-9, 2026. CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE OF PROBABLE CAUSE WAS NOT ESTABLISHED DURING THE WRECKAGE EXAMINATION. AVAILABLE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THE HELICOPTER BROKE UP IN-FLIGHT UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES. THE PHYSICAL AND INITIAL AUDIO/VIDEO EVIDENCE ARE CONSISTENT WITH NORMAL ENGINE OPERATION PRIOR TO, AND DURING THE INITIAL STAGES OF THE ACCIDENT SEQUENCE PRIOR TO IMPACT. AIRCRAFT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED DURING THE EXAMINATION.

THIS REPORT WILL BE AMENDED AS MORE INFORMATION IS OBTAINED.

## 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 WPR26FA098](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26FA098), Feb 5, 2026: Bell 407 (N56AZ), Flagstaff, AZ, destroyed, 2 fatal, investigation ongoing

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.