- Date
- April 5, 1989, 10:20 local (16:20 UTC)
- Place
- Park City, UT
- Injuries
- 5 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N16733Bell 206B-III
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890405042679A
- Case key
- 17585
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
An encounter with strong down-slope winds and gusts during a critiacal phase of flight which caused power required to exceed power available. Contributing factors to the accident was the downhill terrain and the downdraft conditions.
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
While transporting skiers in a remote area near Park City, UT, a bell 206B-III helicopter crashed on takeoff after encountering strong down-slope winds with gusts during a critical phase of flight which caused pwr required to exceed pwr available.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N16733
- Reported as
- Bell 206B-III
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2138
- Airframe hours
- 3,556
- Engine
- Allison 250C-20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Avman, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 27, 1989 · 62 hours before
- Departed
- Park City, UT
- 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
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 7,400 total · 2,790 in this make and model · 7,320 as pilot in command · 130 in the last 90 days · 47 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 20 knots, gusting 40
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- 1 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.
Other investigations on N16733 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.