# NTSB WPR09LA010: Bell 206B, N206CH, Cougar, WA, October 10, 2008 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 10, 2008, 10:30 local (17:30 UTC) - Place: Cougar, WA - Coordinates: 46.042221, -122.419723 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.0422&lon=-122.4197&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report December 24, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Portland FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 69274 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR09LA010 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/69274/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR09LA010 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain clearance between his external load and trees while maneuvering. Contributing to the accident were hilly terrain and trees. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Personnel issues](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02060000): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause) - [Terrain: mountainous/hilly terrain](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021010): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Effect on operation (probable cause) - [Object/animal/substance: tree(s)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022020): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Effect on operation (probable cause) ## Analysis Soon after the helicopter lifted an external load of tree branches and began to fly an uphill route to the central collection point, the long-line became tangled in the trees below the flightpath. As the pilot attempted to continue up the hill toward a landing site, the helicopter's low-rotor rpm horn sounded, and soon thereafter its nose pitched down, and it impacted the ground near the bottom of a steep ravine. Although the long-line was not attached to the helicopter when it crashed, its proximity to the accident site indicated that it was released shortly before the impact. Neither the on-site or the follow-up inspection of the helicopter revealed any evidence of an anomaly in the airframe, engine, or flight control system. ## Factual narrative On October 10, 2008, about 1030 Pacific daylight time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N206CH, impacted the ground while maneuvering in hilly terrain near Cougar, Washington. The commercial pilot received serious injuries, and the helicopter, which was owned and operated by Northwest Helicopters, sustained substantial damage. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 133 rotorcraft external load flight, which departed Olympia, Washington, about an hour and fifteen minutes prior to the accident, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. A company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. According to witnesses on the ground, the helicopter was hauling tree limbs uphill to a central pickup point when the load on the end of the 60-foot cable got caught in the trees that the helicopter was flying over. According to the pilot, when the load got about 20 feet above the ground, the helicopter did a "very quick" 15 to 20 degree roll to the right, and then quickly rolled back to the level position. At that time, the pilot looked outside "to see if the load was tangled," but after the accident he could not remember what he had observed. The pilot's next recollection was looking forward and slightly uphill, and that he could not move the cyclic laterally to the left from its position of about 10 degrees right of center. At that point he continued to try to fly uphill to a dirt road, but had "little control' over the helicopter. As he neared the road, the low-rotor horn came on, and shortly thereafter, at an altitude that the pilot estimated as 20 to 40 feet above the terrain, the helicopter yawed to the right and pitched nose down. At that time, according to the pilot, he knew ground impact was imminent, so he "rolled off the throttle to at least the idle position." According to the witnesses, the helicopter impacted the terrain near the bottom of a steep tree-covered ravine. Although the pilot does not remember whether he did so, the long-line was released from the helicopter prior to the impact. It was located about 75 feet from the crash site, with the end that was attached to the helicopter lying closest to the site. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector from the Portland Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) responded to the accident site. That individual talked with witnesses, and performed an on-site inspection of the helicopter. The helicopter was then recovered to the hangar of the operator, where it underwent a further FAA inspection. Neither the on-site nor the follow-up inspection found any indication of an airframe, engine, or flight control anomaly that would have contributed to the accident sequence. ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220) - [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event) ## Aircraft - Registration: [N206CH](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N206CH), registered now, S/N 1735, built 1975 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BELL 206B - Registry model: [Bell 206B](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206b) (registry code 1181511) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rolls-Royce 250-C20B](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-250-c20b) (registry code 54385, turbo-shaft) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 1735 - Airframe hours: 12242 - Engines: ROLLS-ROYC 250-C20B 420 horsepower turbo shaft - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: External load, Part 133 - Operator: Northwest Helicopters - Registered owner: Northwest Helicopters I Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, October 6, 2008 - Departed: KOLM, Olympia, WA - Destination: Cougar, WA - Flight plan: Company VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 50; injuries: serious; flight instructor, commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: helicopter, airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review February 29, 2008; seat: right; flight hours: 9,858 total, 3,450 in this make and model, 9,750 as pilot in command, 159 in the last 90 days, 51 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 45 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20081010848849A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20081010848849A), Oct 10, 2008: Bell 206B, Yale, WA, Destroyed. (-23) While conducting external load operations to sling noble fir bough bundles, the pilot in command dragged the load on the ground and lost control of the… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.