ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 145944
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| Date: | Wednesday 30 May 2012 |
| Time: | 07:10 |
| Type: |  Bell 206B JetRanger III |
| Owner/operator: | J.R. Helicopters Leasing LLC |
| Registration: | N106TV |
| MSN: | 2783 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 11900 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls Royce 250-C20B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Flat Top Ranch apple orchard, near Burbank, WA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Zillah, WA |
| Zillah, WA | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During an aerial application flight, the single engine helicopter was flying low over an apple orchard when the engine began to lose power. The pilot decreased his airspeed toward zero and performed a hovering autorotation into the orchard. During the landing, the rotor blades impacted the trees, and the tail boom separated from the main fuselage. An examination of the engine revealed that the compressor discharge pressure (PC) air tube, which connected the PC air filter to the power turbine governor was disconnected. The “B” nut that connected the tube to the PC air filter was present on the tube but not threaded onto the PC air filter boss. The threads on both the PC air filter boss and the “B” nut did not exhibit any damage or abnormalities. Review of the maintenance records showed that, about 6 hours before the accident, the turbine assembly and bleed valve had been replaced. Removal and reinstallation of the PC air tube was conducted as part of the documented maintenance. It is likely that maintenance personnel did not properly torque the “B” nut when reinstalling the tube and the loose “B” nut backed off in-flight. According to the engine manufacturer's technical representative, disconnection of the PC air tube during engine operation would result in a loss of engine power.
Probable Cause: The failure of maintenance personnel to properly torque an air tube fitting, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 31-May-2012 05:34 | Anon. | Added |
| 31-May-2012 09:25 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total occupants, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 31-May-2012 09:32 | Geno | Updated [Registration, Cn, Operator, Source] |
| 04-Jun-2012 16:54 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 27-Nov-2017 20:43 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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