ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 42710
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| Date: | Wednesday 18 June 1986 |
| Time: | 09:33 |
| Type: |  Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III |
| Owner/operator: | Helitech |
| Registration: | N6TC |
| MSN: | 3114 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Other fatalities: | 20 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Grand Canyon NP, AZ -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Tusayan Heliport, AZ |
| Tusayan Heliport, AZ | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A Grand Canyon Airlines DHC-6 Vista Liner 300 (cn 248) N76GC took off from Grand Canyon-National Park Airport runway 21 at 08:55 for a 50-minute air tour over Grand Canyon National Park. At 09:13 the Helitech Bell 206B JetRanger (N6TC) took off from a heliport near Tusayan for a 30-minute air tour as Flight 2.
Both aircraft collided in the area of the Tonto Plateau, at an altitude of 6500 feet msl. The Bell main rotor blade struck and severed the DHC-6's nosegear. The opposite blade of the Bell struck the aft portion of the fuselage of the DHC-6.
A fuel cell of the Vista Liner was ruptured, creating a vaporous cloud of fuel. The rotor head of the Bell 206 separated and debris from the disintegrating rotor blade struck the left side and tail of the DHC-6. The tail separated, causing the DHC-6 to lose control and pitch over. The aircraft struck the ground in an inverted attitude and the helicopter free-fell to the ground following the rotor blade separation.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The failure of the flight crew of both aircraft to 'see and avoid' each other for undetermined reasons.
Contributing to the accident was the failure of the Federal Aviation Administration to exercise its oversight responsibility over flight operations in the Grand Canyon scenic air tour operators. Also contributing to the accident was the modification and configuration of the routes of the rotary-wing operators resulting in their intersecting with the routes of Grand Canyon Airlines near Crystal Rapids."
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
ASN
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 28-Sep-2010 02:57 | TB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 10-Aug-2021 18:08 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 10-Aug-2021 18:11 | harro | Updated [Destination airport, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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