- Date
- July 20, 1995, 17:00 local (Jul 21, 1995, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Bettles, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N58129Bell 206B-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 14, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19950720049089A
- Case key
- 2693
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Failure of the pilot to ensuring the sling cable was free of the skid before lifting off into a hover, which allowed the cable to become wrapped (entangled) around the skid.
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 pilot was attempting to lift an external load. The sling cable was wrapped around the aft part of the right skid. As the pilot increased the hover height, the cable became taut. He attempted to jettison the load, but the cable would not release. He then landed the helicopter on the external load.
Factual narrative
On July 20, 1995, at 1700 Alaska daylight time, a skid equipped, Bell 206 B-3 helicopter, N58129, registered to and operated by Tundra Helicopters of Fairbanks, Alaska, struck a skid on the ground while attempting to lift a sling load and landed on the external load, at Bettles, Alaska. The external load flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 133, was departing Bettles for a field mining site in the local area. A visual flight rules flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airline transport certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The helicopter received substantial damage.
According to the statement provided by the pilot in the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, he was attempting to lift an external load with the helicopter. As he raised the helicopter to a hover, the sling load lift cable became wrapped around the right rear skid. He attempted to release the external load when the cyclic control travel reached the lateral stop. The load would not jettison. He then landed the helicopter on the external load.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N58129
- Reported as
- Bell 206B-3
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1136
- Airframe hours
- 7,650
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 317 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 133
- Registered owner
- Tundra Helicopters
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Destination
- Mining Site, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- BET · Bettles, runway 1, 5,200 × 150 ft, gravel
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 11,275 total · 3,042 in this make and model · 9,055 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.