- Date
- May 1, 1988, 10:23 local (14:23 UTC)
- Place
- Long Island Cty, NY
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 4 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7094JBell 206B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880501070799A
- Case key
- 36000
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
The bell 206B was on a sightseeing flight around the Island of manhattan when it experienced a low rotor RPM situation. The pilot said he could not recover rotor RPM and made a forced landing in the east river. The pilot and three passengers exited the aircraft and hung onto the floats which were inflated and separated from the aircraft. One passenger did not escape, was found in the aircraft 1 1/2 hours later and died of drowning. A fatigue crack was found on the power turbine governor near the py port which would cause the engine to lose power. The pilot and passengers said a warning horn identified as the low rotor warning horn, stayed on throughout the descent. The low rotor RPM warning horn is designed to sound when a low rotor RPM condition exists. No evidence of any collective control problem was found and the pilot did not mention a jammed collective.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7094J
- Reported as
- Bell 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 727
- Airframe hours
- 7,395
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20, 317 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Island Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Island Helicopters
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 13, 1988 · 54 hours before
- Departed
- TSS · Manhattan, NY
- Airport
- TSS
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
- 32
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,785 total · 698 in this make and model · 1,644 as pilot in command · 191 in the last 90 days · 79 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,700 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LGA, 5 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 N7094J · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.