- Date
- July 11, 2024, 17:05 local (23:05 UTC)
- Place
- Stanley, ID
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N21BHBell 407
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-hover: Windshear or thunderstorm
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20240711007499A
- Case key
- 194702
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
A sudden wind shift which resulted in a rapid descent and subsequent dynamic rollover and collision into water.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he was conducting firefighting operations in a helicopter equipped with a 50-foot long-line and a 120-gallon Bambi bucket. Earlier in the day he performed 29 water pickups and returned to a nearby helibase to refuel. The pilot went back to the lake where he had performed the previous fills and completed 13 water pickups noting that the wind was increasing. He went to perform the 14th water pickup and entered a left downwind approach to the lake as he had done all day. On final approach, the helicopter encountered a wind shift, which resulted in a rapid rate of descent. The pilot attempted to arrest the descent by raising the collective which led to a settling with power event. The bucket impacted the water that resulted in a dynamic rollover and the helicopter nosed-in to the lake. The pilot stated that there were no pre impact mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N21BH
- Reported as
- Bell 407
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 53262
- Built
- 1998
- Airframe hours
- 9,045.5
- Engine
- Rolls Royce 250-C47B, 650 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Firefighting · Public use
- Operator
- Brainerd Helicopter Services Inc.
- Registered owner
- Chemair Helicopters Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 1, 2024 · 92 hours before
- Departed
- Stanley, ID
- Destination
- Stanley, ID
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Video recording device, Satellite tracking device, Handheld GPS, Onboard weather
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
- 55
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 22, 2024
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,327 total · 722 in this make and model · 4,143 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 8 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.23 inHg
- Turbulence
- Light
- Observed at
- KSNT
- METAR
- METAR KSNT 112251Z AUTO 34008G18KT 31/02 A3023 RMK AO1 SLP132 T03110022=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 6, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 15.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.