- Date
- November 9, 1984, 16:00 local (Nov 10, 1984, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Inverness, CA
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2917WBell 206B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19841109067329A
- Case key
- 24594
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
An autorotation was initiated at about 300 ft as eng and rotor RPM began to decrease. Touchdown occurred in soft sand with some forward motion. Full aft cyclic was applied causing the main rotor to contact the tailboom. Exam of the acft fuel system revealed aprx 2/3 quart of water in the fuel filter and a substantial amount of water in the fuel pump. About 1/2 gal of water was contained in the fuel drum from whch the helicopter had just been serviced.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2917W
- Reported as
- Bell 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 806
- Airframe hours
- 5,106
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20, 317 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Astrocopters, Ltd.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 1, 1984 · 93 hours before
- Departed
- Inverness, CA
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
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 6,021 total · 2,855 in this make and model · 5,519 as pilot in command · 240 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 225° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
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 N2917W · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.