- Date
- July 24, 1990, 09:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Sarasota, FL
- Injuries
- 4 minor, 1 uninjured; on the ground: 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2164ZBell 206B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900724060119A
- Case key
- 32685
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
Improper control input after the loss of tail rotor effectiveness.
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
The plt stated that while flying at about 35 mph at an alt of about 3-5 ft above the water & 50 ft abeam a boat which was being filmed by photographers in the acft, the acft yawed to the rt, pitched down & left. He was unable to correct this before impact. The floats were not deployed. Debris from the helicopter injured a pax in the boat. 1 of the 3 pax in the helicopter was unable to exit it after impact due to tape that he put around the seatbelt release mechanism. The plt assisted him. Exam of the heliocpter revealed no flt control or eng failure or malfunction.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2164Z
- Reported as
- Bell 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3494
- Engine
- Allison C20B, 317 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Suncoast Helicopters, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 29, 1990
- Departed
- SRQ
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
- 35
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 3,800 total · 2,200 in this make and model · 3,690 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 30,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 79 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SRQ, 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.