ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 224052
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| Date: | Tuesday 16 April 2019 |
| Time: | 07:06 |
| Type: |  Bell 206B JetRanger III |
| Owner/operator: | TRE Aviation Corp |
| Registration: | N61PH |
| MSN: | 3282 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce Corporation M250-C20B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Fort McDowell, AZ -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Mesa-Falcon Field, AZ (MSC/KFFZ) |
| Mesa-Falcon Field, AZ (MSC/KFFZ) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot and flight engineer were conducting a flight test to evaluate developmental main rotor blades that had been installed on the helicopter. The flight consisted of multiple autorotations at maximum gross weight, entered following a 1-second delay after a simulated loss of engine power. A witness saw the helicopter falling from the sky and saw several other objects descending to the ground before losing sight of it behind trees.
Examination of the wreckage revealed damage to the main rotor mast, consistent with a mast bumping event. Cyclic controls were installed in both the pilot’s seat and the left seat, where the flight test engineer sat with equipment used for recording flight parameters, including an 8-lb laptop computer. In order for the engineer to operate the computer or take notes on the clipboard, he would have to hold the computer with one hand while using the other to enter commands or take notes. The installation of the cyclic in the engineer’s position represented a deviation from company procedures by both the pilot and the flight test engineer. Examination revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the helicopter prior to the mast bumping.
The flight engineer’s fatigue of holding the 8-lb computer over his lap, the awkwardness of entering commands with one hand, or taking notes single-handedly may have allowed the computer to suddenly shift and strike or block the cyclic during the simulated loss of power test at the critical low-G flight condition.
Probable Cause: The separation of the main rotor head from the mast as a result of a sudden displacement of the cyclic stick during a low-G maneuver, leading to mast bumping. Contributing to the accident were the unsecure positioning of the flight test engineer’s laptop computer and the deviation from standard operating procedures to leave the left seat cyclic control installed during the test flight.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/helicopter-crashes-near-fountain-hills
https://www.azfamily.com/news/one-dead-after-helicopter-crashes-near-fountain-hills/article_a01709ea-6054-11e9-a168-c3623775133e.html
https://www.azfamily.com/news/slideshows/photos-helicopter-crashes-northeast-of-fountain-hills/collection_b081fc38-6057-11e9-8deb-732dd6445df6.html
https://www.azfamily.com/news/men-killed-in-helicopter-crash-near-fountain-hills/article_a01709ea-6054-11e9-a168-c3623775133e.html
http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/helicopter-crashes-near-fountain-hills
https://vanhornaviation.com/2019/04/19/vha-stands-behind-products/
http://aerossurance.com/helicopters/206-mrb-flight-test-mast-bump/
NTSB
Location
Media:
The NTSB is investigating the crash Tuesday of a Bell 206B in Fort McDowell, Arizona.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) April 16, 2019
Juggling a flight test laptop and notes over the dual cyclic may explain a fatal flight test mast bumping accident say #NTSB. https://t.co/VuXEcntGwL #helicopter #accident #flighttest #aviationsafety #flightsafety pic.twitter.com/syF2bCyaW4
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) April 23, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Apr-2019 16:18 | Geno | Added |
| 16-Apr-2019 17:36 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Phase, Nature, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 16-Apr-2019 17:38 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Phase, Departure airport, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 16-Apr-2019 20:13 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Source] |
| 16-Apr-2019 20:22 | RobertMB | Updated [Cn, Operator] |
| 17-Apr-2019 07:09 | Anon. | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source] |
| 17-Apr-2019 07:10 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
| 17-Apr-2019 07:59 | gerard57 | Updated [Nature, Narrative] |
| 18-Apr-2019 21:49 | Aerossurance | Updated [Nature, Narrative] |
| 20-Apr-2019 14:02 | Aerossurance | Updated [Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Apr-2019 17:14 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 06-Apr-2022 23:51 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, Accident report] |
| 23-Apr-2022 07:27 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
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