CEN19LA318

The pilot descended the helicopter to land on a field in a bowl-shaped area with prevailing high winds. The pilot reported that the engine stopped producing power during the approach when the helicopter was too low to prevent a hard landing. The helicopter descended, spun, and landed hard, resulting in substantial damage. Examination of the airframe and test run of the engine did not reveal any anomalies which would have precluded normal operation of the helicopter. Testing of the engine could not replicate a loss of engine power. The helicopter was landing at high altitude, with strong winds. It could not be determined if these factors adversely impacted the helicopter’s power available during the landing leading to conditions consistent with a loss of engine performance. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined because an examination and engine runs did not reveal any anomalies.

On September 12, 2019, about 1410 mountain daylight time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N100CK, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Hill City, South Dakota. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that the wind was blowing about 30 to 40 mph in the vicinity of the landing zone, which was a field in a bowl-shaped area above 5,000 ft mean sea level. He conducted an approach into the wind pointing generally northwest. The pilot report that when the helicopter was between 20 to 50 ft above the ground, the engine stopped producing power and he received low rotor rpm and engine out warnings. The helicopter descended, spun two times, landed hard, and rolled onto its side. Substantial damage was sustained to the fuselage and tail boom. About 50 gallons of fuel were extracted from the fuel tank during recovery of the helicopter. Postrecovery airframe and engine examinations did not reveal any anomalies. The engine was removed from the airframe and a test run was performed. The engine successfully completed idle, flight-idle, max-continuous power, take-off, and “wave-off” performance runs. No anomalies were detected which would have precluded normal operation of the engine.