# NTSB CEN12LA282: Bell 206B-III, N1069Z, Flora, IN, May 9, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 9, 2012, 08:50 local (12:50 UTC) - Place: Flora, IN - Coordinates: 40.485553, -86.54528 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.4856&lon=-86.5453&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering: Settling with power/vortex ring state](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/244) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 15, 2012 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 83582 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN12LA282 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/83582/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=83582 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12LA282 ## Probable cause The pilot allowed the helicopter to settle with power. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Bell 206B, 45 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=1181511), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: prop/rotor parameters](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062052): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Bell 206B, 11 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062052/cases.md?model=1181511), [All aircraft, 182 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062052/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering: Settling with power/vortex ring state](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/244) (defining event); cases with it: [Bell 206B, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/244/sequence.md?model=1181511), [All aircraft, 52 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/244/sequence.md) - [Uncontrolled descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Bell 206B, 57 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=1181511), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot approached the field he intended to spray from the northeast at a 45-degree angle. He made a gradual climbing left turn to align the helicopter for a spray run to the east, climbing to an altitude of about 100 feet above ground level and slowing to about 40 mph. The wind was from about 300 degrees at 10 mph. As he made the turn, the wind became a tailwind. The helicopter began to descend and settle with power. The pilot maintained a level attitude while attempting to gain airspeed. The helicopter impacted the ground in a level attitude on an easterly heading. The main rotor blades flexed down and severed the tail boom. The helicopter nosed over and came to rest on its right side facing west. ## Factual narrative On May 9, 2012, about 0850 eastern daylight time, a Bell 206B-III, N1069Z,impacted terrain near Flora, Indiana, while spraying a wheat field. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was not injured. The helicopter was substantially damaged. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Townsend Aviation, Monticello, Indiana, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from a staging area near Flora, Indiana, approximately 0820. The pilot reported that he had exhausted his chemical load in the middle of the spraying operation and returned to the staging truck to resupply. He then returned to the field to resume spraying. Approaching the field from the northeast at a 45-degree angle, he made a gradual climbing left turn to align the helicopter for a spray run to the east, climbing to an altitude of approximately 100 feet and slowing to about 40 mph. The wind was approximately 300 degrees at 10 mph. As he made the turn, the wind became a tailwind. The helicopter began to descend and settle from about 100 feet. The pilot attempted to maintain a level attitude while attempting to gain airspeed. The helicopter impacted the ground in a level attitude on an easterly heading. The main rotor blades flexed down and severed the tail boom. The helicopter nosed over and came to rest on its right side facing west. The FAA Helicopter Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-21, Chapter 11, p. 11-13)states, “Vortex ring state” is an aerodynamic condition in which a helicopter may be in a vertical descent with 20 percent up to maximum power applied, and little or no climb performance. “Settling with power” occurs when the helicopter keeps settling even though full engine power is applied. Main rotor tip vortices generate drag and degrade airfoil efficiency. As long as the tip vortices are small, their only effect is a small loss in main rotor efficiency. However, when the helicopter begins to descend vertically, it settles into its own downwash, which greatly enlarges the tip vortices. In this vortex ring state, most of the power developed by the engine is wasted in circulating the air in a doughnut pattern around the rotor. A vortex ring state may be entered during any maneuver that places the main rotor in a condition of descending in a column of disturbed air and low forward airspeed. Airspeeds that are below translational lift airspeeds are within this region of susceptibility to settling with power aerodynamics. This condition is sometimes seen during quick-stop type maneuvers or during recovery from autorotation. Conducive to a settling with power are hovering above ground effect altitude, specifically attempting to hover out of ground effect (OGE) at altitudes above the hovering ceiling of the helicopter; attempting to hover OGE without maintaining precise altitude control;pinnacle or rooftop helipads when the wind is not aligned with the landing direction, and downwind and steep power approaches in which airspeed is permitted to drop below 10 knots, depending on the type of helicopter. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1069Z](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1069Z-2017-10-25), registration cancelled 2017-10-25, S/N 2855, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BELL 206B-III - Registry model: [Bell 206B](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206b) (registry code 1181511) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rolls-Royce 250-C20B](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-250-c20b) (registry code 54385, turbo-shaft) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 2855 - Airframe hours: 16454 - Engines: Rolls-Royce 250-C20B 420 horsepower - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Operator: Townsend Aviation Inc - Registered owner: Townsend Aviation Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, March 9, 2012, 19 hours before - Departed: KMCX, Monticello, IN ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 37; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review October 4, 2011; seat: right; flight hours: 2,500 total, 700 in this make and model, 1,800 as pilot in command, 50 in the last 90 days, 20 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 300° at 8 knots, gusting 10 - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 63 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 29.88 inHg ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20120509008699A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120509008699A), May 9, 2012: Bell 206B, Flora, IN, Substantial damage. On Wednesday may 9th at approximately 1305Z, a Bell 206B iii, N1069Z, crashed in a wheat field near Flora, Indiana. The helicopter was owned and operated by… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 22, 2012, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=83582. 2.4 MB in all. - NTSB Form 6120, Pilot-Operator Aircraft Accident Report (item 1, .PDF, 2.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40369049&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=NTSB%20Form%206120,%20Pilot-Operator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report-Redacted.PDF - Flight path diagram (item 2, .PDF, 77 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40368668&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Flight%20path%20diagram-Master.PDF - Google Earth Photograph of Field Being Sprayed (item 3, .PDF, 229 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40369319&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Google%20Earth%20Photograph%20of%20Field%20Being%20Sprayed-Redacted.PDF 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. --- 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.