- Date
- March 17, 1987, 08:36 local (12:36 UTC)
- Place
- Valdez, AK
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9ARBell 206B-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19870317006259A
- Case key
- 4772
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The helicopter collided with transmission lines while on pipeline patrol, fatally injuring the pilot and seriously injuring the observer. The observer stated that he and the pilot had been flying towards a burning object on the snow near two snow machines when they struck the wire. The burning object was later discovered to be a hazard warning ball which had apparently ignited on the transmission line and fallen to the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9AR
- Reported as
- Bell 206B-3
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3853
- Airframe hours
- 4,458
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20J, 317 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Alyeska Pipeline
- Registered owner
- Heli-Lift Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · March 11, 1987 · 42 hours before
- Departed
- Valdez, AK
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 51
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 11,000 total · 25,000 in this make and model · 10,300 as pilot in command · 300 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 200 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 21 °F, dew point 10 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.