- Date
- August 30, 2002, 12:25 local (18:25 UTC)
- Place
- Canon City, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N43GABell 206L-III
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 1, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20020830025389A
- Case key
- 55657
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
the pilot's failure to maintain clearance of a static wire, and the subsequent loss of aircraft control due to the main rotor pitch change tubes being severed.
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 said that he had been flying down in the canyon, and had come up to the surface to return to his helipad. He said that the helicopter's mast struck a wire, and severed the main rotor pitch change tubes disabling the aircraft. The pilot said that the helicopter came down vertically (20 to 30 feet) breaking the left skid, crushing the fuselage, separating the tail boom, and separating portions of both main rotor blades.
Factual narrative
On August 30, 2002, at approximately 1225 mountain daylight time, a Bell 206L-III helicopter, N43GA, was destroyed when it struck wires while maneuvering near Canon City, Colorado. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant aboard the aircraft, was not injured. Royal Gorge HeliTours was operating the aircraft under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal local flight that had departed approximately 5 minutes before the accident. No flight plan had been filed.
The pilot said that he had been flying down in the canyon, and had come up to the surface to return to his helipad. He said that the helicopter's mast struck a wire, and severed the main rotor pitch change tubes disabling the aircraft. The pilot said that the helicopter came down vertically (20 to 30 feet) breaking the left skid, crushing the fuselage, separating the tail boom, and separating portions of both main rotor blades.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N43GA
- Reported as
- Bell 206L-III
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 51305
- Airframe hours
- 2,988
- Engine
- Allison 250-C30P, 650 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rapid Air LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 30, 2002 · 33 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Canon City, CO
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
- 57
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- November 30, 2000
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 20,000 total · 5,000 in this make and model · 20,000 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- PUB, 39 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.