ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 36068
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 November 1991 |
| Time: | 23:21 |
| Type: |  Aérospatiale SA 316B Alouette III |
| Owner/operator: | Rocky Mountain Helicopters |
| Registration: | N146RM |
| MSN: | 1614 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1969 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 7525 hours |
| Engine model: | TURBOMECA ARTOUSTE IIIB |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Bridgeport, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ambulance |
| Departure airport: | Bridgeport, CA (Q18) |
| Reno, NV | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
THE AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION (EMS-MEDEVAC) FLT WAS MADE AT NGT over MTN TRRN. THE PLT INTERRUPTED HIS NORMAL PSN RPRT & BROADCAST 'MAYDAY' 3 TIMES, GIVING HIS PSN TO A COMPANY DISPATCHER. HE DID NOT STATE THE NATURE OF THE EMERGENCY. NO FURTHER COMM WAS RECORDED. WITNESSES IN A SOUTHBOUND AUTO SAW THE HELICOPTER FLYING TOWARD THEM FROM THE SOUTH. THEY STATED THE HELICOPTER'S FUSELAGE STARTED ROTATING COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. IT THEN VEERED TO THE WEST, WENT OUT OF SIGHT, AND CRASHED. ALL MAJ COMPONENTS, EXCEPT ABOUT 33 INCHES OF THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT & ITS #5 BRG, WERE LOCATED. THE TAIL BOOM WAS FOUND IN 3 SECTIONS. ROTATIONAL & LONGITUDINAL SCORING DAMAGE WAS NOTED ON THE TAIL BOOM IN THE VCNTY OF THE #3 & #5 BRG SUPPORTS. A LAB RPRT STATED THAT THE ROTATIONAL DMG OCCURRED BEFORE THE GROSS DEFORMATION OF THE TAIL BOOM & SUBSEQUENT IN-FLT BREAKUP OF THE HELICOPTER. CAUSE: FAILURE OF THE HELICOPTER'S TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT AND DRIVE SHAFT BEARING DUE TO UNDETERMINED REASON(S).
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001212X18461
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 30 July 1970 | ZK-HCX | Helicopters (NZ) Ltd | near Barrytown, West Coast |  |
unk | |
| 19 November 1980 | N614RA | Roberts Acft | 1 | N Gallup, NM | |
w/o |
| 28 November 1991 | N146RM | Rocky Mountain Helicopters | Bridgeport, CA | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 07-Feb-2009 10:23 | harro | Updated |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:22 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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