- Date
- July 15, 1985, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Saginaw, TX
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N32GTBell 206L-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850715037629A
- Case key
- 21563
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 had landed in the road to pick up an injured auto accident patient. The plt made an aerial check prior to landing to the west in a calm wind condition. The patient was loaded in a secure stretcher and all was ready for liftoff. The plt stated he did not observe the telephone lines across the road. The helicopter contacted the lines on the engine nacelle cowling with the wires continuing up the rotor mast causing the pitch change links to separate causing loss of helicopter control and resulting in surface impact with the road.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N32GT
- Reported as
- Bell 206L-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 45663
- Airframe hours
- 8,195
- Engine
- Allison 250-C-28, 435 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Execucopter, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- AAIP · June 30, 1985 · 25 hours before
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
- 38
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 11,015 total · 605 in this make and model · 11,000 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 95 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.