# NTSB WPR11LA277: Bell 212, N49678, Mesa, AZ, June 21, 2011 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 21, 2011, 06:34 local (13:34 UTC) - Place: Mesa, AZ - Coordinates: 33.520832, -111.76361 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.5208&lon=-111.7636&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering-hover: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 2 serious - Status: Completed, report November 13, 2014 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Bell Helicopter, Boeing Company, Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 80846 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR11LA277 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/80846/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=80846 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR11LA277 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain helicopter control while in a low hover. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Bell 212, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=1181420), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Bell 212, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000/cases.md?model=1181420), [All aircraft, 1,269 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering-hover: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [Bell 212, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=1181420), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Maneuvering-hover: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Bell 212, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=1181420), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that, after he established the helicopter in a stabilized hover about 3 feet above the ground with the crew chief following on the controls with him, the helicopter rapidly rolled right. The pilot was unable to correct the roll, and the helicopter subsequently impacted the ground and came to rest on its right side. The helicopter's fuselage sustained substantial damage, and the cockpit area was consumed by postimpact fire. Ground scars about 20 feet behind the main wreckage revealed that the tail section contacted the ground first. The pilot reported and a postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the helicopter. ## Factual narrative On June 21, 2011, about 0634 mountain standard time (MST), a Bell 212, N49678, experienced a loss of control and subsequent rollover near Falcon Field Airport (FFZ), Mesa, Arizona. The helicopter was operated by The Boeing Company under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a proficiency flight. The company test pilot/certified flight instructor pilot and crew chief/mechanic received serious injuries, and the helicopter sustained substantial damage from the postimpact fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight that departed Boeing Heliport (AZ81) at 0610. In the pilot's written statement to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), he stated that he was seated in the right seat, and the mechanic was seated in the left seat. The pilot had successfully completed a practice approach, vertical landing, and takeoff to a low mesa about a mile northeast of Red Mountain. He then proceeded to an area known as "the tires" on the south side of Sawick Mountain. The pilot recalled performing a left 180-degree normal approach, and an uneventful, no-hover vertical landing. As he initiated a lift off and established a stabilized 3-foot hover, the pilot stated that the helicopter rolled rapidly to the right, and he was unable to stop the roll. The helicopter impacted the ground and erupted into flames. The pilot also reported that he had an airline transport pilot certificate, and also held a flight instructor certificate. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) along with parties to the investigation, The Boeing Company, and Bell Helicopter, responded to the accident site. According to the FAA inspector, the accident site was located on the Salt River Indian Reservation about 10 miles north of FFZ. The helicopter had rolled onto its right side and a post-crash fire consumed the cockpit area. Investigators further reported several ground scars were near the wreckage. One ground scar was a linear scar about 20-feet behind the main wreckage and identified as the first point of contact. The ground scar was about 3 to 4 feet in length and contained green primer paint chips consistent with the paint on the tail stinger and yellow paint chips, consistent with the paint on the tail rotor blade tip. A postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed no preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the helicopter. The Boeing Company's interview with the pilot revealed that pilot was on the controls and the crew chief was following through with him at the time of the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N49678](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N49678-2011-09-29), registration cancelled 2011-09-29, S/N 30743, built 1975 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BELL 212 - Registry model: [Bell 212](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-212) (registry code 1181420) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney PT6 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6-series) (registry code 52033, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 30743 - Airframe hours: 13460 - Engines: P&W PT6T-3 800 horsepower turbo shaft; P&W PT6T-3 800 horsepower turbo shaft - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Executive/Corporate, Part 91 - Operator: Boeing Co - Registered owner: Boeing Co - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, April 8, 2011 - Departed: AZ81, MESA, AZ - Destination: AZ81, MESA, AZ - Flight plan: Company VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 63; injuries: serious; flight instructor, commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: powered-lift, helicopter; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review October 19, 2010; seat: right; flight hours: 7,021 total, 88 in this make and model, 4,568 as pilot in command, 68 in the last 90 days, 2 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 10° at 8 knots - Visibility: 50 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 28 °F - Altimeter: 29.76 inHg - Observed at: FFZ, 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20110621013539A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110621013539A), Jun 21, 2011: Bell 212, Mesa, AZ, Substantial damage. On June 21, 2011 a Bell 212 helicopter (N49678) operated by "the Boeing company" was conducting a pilot currency flight when the aircraft struck the ground,… ## Docket (7 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 8, 2014, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=80846. 8.9 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 721 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40417544&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Statement - Thomas MacDonald (item 2, .PDF, 18 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40417545&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20-%20Thomas%20MacDonald-Redacted.PDF - Wreckage Diagram (item 3, .PDF, 133 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40417546&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Wreckage%20Diagram-Master.PDF - Bell Helicopter Report Excerpt (item 4, .PDF, 52 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40417551&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Bell%20Helicopter%20Report%20Excerpt-Master.PDF - Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation (item 5, .PDF, 7.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40417547&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20of%20Party%20Representatives%20to%20NTSB%20Investigation-Redacted.PDF - Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 (item 6, .PDF, 161 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40417548&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Release%20of%20Aircraft%20Wreckage,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.15-Redacted.PDF - Photo 1 - Wreckage (item 7, .PDF, 237 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40417550&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo%201%20-%20Wreckage-Master.PDF 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.