- Date
- May 25, 1989, 16:29 local (23:29 UTC)
- Place
- Camp Verde, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N49608Bell 206B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890525012999A
- Case key
- 26229
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain adequate altitude to clear obstructions in his flight path and visually detect obstructions in order to avert a collision.
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
A bell helicopter 206B collided with unmarked power transmission cables while on a VFR positioning flight. The pilot had flown several scenic flights earlier in the day and was returning to the operator's facility when the collision occurred. The helicopter's course was on a southerly direction. The wires were suspended across a terrain feature known as a saddle. The span was about one mile between the poles that supported the cables. The poles were masked from view when approaching from the north by terrain. The cables were about 100 feet above ground level. The elevation of the cables was 4,140 feet mean sea level. The cables were depicted on the sectional aeronautical chart. The maximum elevation figure for the accident quadrangle on the sectional chart was 7,200 feet MSL.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N49608
- Reported as
- Bell 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1733
- Airframe hours
- 8,570
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20, 317 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Bell Ford
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 2, 1989 · 23 hours before
- Departed
- SEZ · Sedona, AZ
- Destination
- FFZ · Mesa, AZ
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 8,134 total · 7,690 as pilot in command · 51 in the last 90 days · 26 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 15 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility
- 65 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PRC, 34 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.