- Date
- August 13, 1990, 18:36 local (Aug 14, 1990, 01:36 UTC)
- Place
- San Francisco, CA
- Injuries
- 2 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N2917WBell 206B II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 23, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900813033449A
- Case key
- 26889
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
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the helicopter. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to operate the helicopter in a flight regime conducive to unanticipated right yaw.
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
Pilot was maneuvering his heliocpter in a climbing right turn around a sailboat to provide an aerial platform for a movie film crew. About 100 feet above the water and a few feet from the sailboat mast, the helicopter began to spin to the right. The pilot stated that the helicopter was downwind from the relative wind direction. The pilot reduced collective pitch and the spin stopped. Due to the collective reduction, the pilot was unable to regain control of the helicopter before it struck the ocean surface and sank.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2917W
- Reported as
- Bell 206B II
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 806
- Airframe hours
- 7,955
- Engine
- Allison 250-C-20, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Astro Copters Ltd.
- Registered owner
- Dwayne V. Vandagriff
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 9, 1990 · 7 hours before
- Departed
- San Rafael, 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
- 43
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 9,130 total · 3,300 in this make and model · 8,997 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 55 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 18 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Temperature
- 64 °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.