- Date
- May 6, 1991, 00:01 local (07:01 UTC)
- Place
- Searchlight, NV
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N49720Bell 206
- Weather
- Not reported
- Status
- Completed · report May 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 27201
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
Cannot be determined in that the helicopter was stolen and the certainty of the resulting damage to the helicopter may have been intentional or accidental.
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 206 was stolen from the operator during a on-demand air taxi flight. A passenger was first transported between two airports. The passenger then asked the pilot to fly by a mine site. The helicopter landed at the mine site and was greeted by an individual carrying a rifle. The pilot was assaulted and knocked unconscious. The helicopter was then flown away. The helicopter was found three days later by police abandoned on uneven desert terrain. The wreckage was described as 'rolled up in a ball.' Traces of blood and hair were found in the helicopter's overhead structure above the pilot's seat. Samples of the blood and hair did not match those of the assailed pilot. The helicopter had rolled over during a landing attempt. The time and date of the accident cannot be determined. The identity of the pilot cannot be determined. The theft of the helicopter is being investigated by law enforcement agencies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N49720
- Reported as
- Bell 206
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1899
- Engine
- Allison 250 C18, 317 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Helicopter Svc'S Nv
- Registered owner
- Helicopter Svc'S Nv
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
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
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
Weather
- Conditions
- Not reported