- Date
- January 3, 1985, 07:40 local (15:40 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Barbara, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2246QBell 2061-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850103000149A
- Case key
- 24622
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
During takeoff & departure, the helicopter climbed to about 150 ft AGL & started to proceed over water. As it crossed over the shoreline near the end of the rwy, the eng flamed out. The plt turned about 120 deg back toward a Beech area & made an autorotative landing on soft, sandy terrain. The heicopter touched down with a forward speed of 8 to 10 KTS. As the skids sank in the sand, the plt applied aft cyclic & the main rotor blades struck the tail boom. An exam of the eng & fuel sys revealed no reason for the power loss.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2246Q
- Reported as
- Bell 2061-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 45752
- Airframe hours
- 2,062
- Engine
- Allison 250-C28B, 435 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Petroleum Helicopters, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 13, 1984 · 21 hours before
- Departed
- SBA
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
- 42
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 10,207 total · 1,054 in this make and model · 9,310 as pilot in command · 95 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SBA, 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 N2246Q · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.