- Date
- September 23, 1986, 12:42 local (16:42 UTC)
- Place
- Galax, VA
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N251CCBell 222UT
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860923046119A
- Case key
- 6967
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 was dispatched on an emerg med svc (ems/med-evac) flt to transport a patient with subcranial bleeding back to a hospital in winston-salem. Bfr takeoff, the plt received a wx briefing. At that time, widespread IMC prevailedthru-out the area & VFR flt was not recommended. While en route, the plt climbed to 4500' MSL. In the last transmission from the acft (to hospital dispatch), the helicopter was rprtd to be aprx 12 mi from Galax (the destn). A witness in that area heard the sound of a helicopter which ceased with a 'thud' when it crashed. He looked in the direction of the noise, but he could not see anything due to fog. The wreckage was fnd aprx 10 mi se of Galax. The helicopter had crashed just below the top of a mtn ridge at an elev of about 3500'. There was evidence the helicopter was in about a 20 deg rgt bank when it crashed. No preimpact part failure or malfunction was fnd during the investigation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N251CC
- Reported as
- Bell 222UT
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 47517
- Airframe hours
- 445
- Engine
- Lycoming LTS-101, 735 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Rocky Mountain Helicopters, doing business as Air Care [Ems]
- Registered owner
- North Carolina Baptist Hosp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 18, 1986 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- INT · Winston-Salem, NC
- Destination
- Galax, VA
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
- 36
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 8,085 total · 566 in this make and model · 7,535 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.