- Date
- December 3, 1983, 13:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Ft. Morgan, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1078VBell 206B
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19831203073809A
- Case key
- 16185
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 owned & operated by a tv station & was being used for transportation to a news event. While en route, clouds & reduced visibility due to fog were encountered. The plt elected to land in a field covered with powdered snow. During the landing, the powdered snow was blown which resulted in a white-out condition. The plt tried to make a normal touchdown, but the helicopter rolled over & the main rotor blades hit the ground. An exam of the crash site revealed that the right skid touched down 1st & dug into the ground about 4 to 6 inches while traveling in a lateral direction. The helicopter came to rest about 40 ft from the 1st ground scar.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1078V
- Reported as
- Bell 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2923
- Airframe hours
- 3,457
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kbtv Broadcasting, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 31, 1983 · 52 hours before
- Departed
- Denver, CO
- Destination
- Brush, CO
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 54
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 6,140 in this make and model · 12,000 as pilot in command · 246 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N1078V · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.