Accident Bell 206L-3 LongRanger III HK3978, Thursday 7 November 2019

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Date:	Thursday 7 November 2019
Time:	15:55 LT
Type:	Bell 206L-3 LongRanger III
Owner/operator:	Delta Helicópteros
Registration:	HK3978
MSN:	51446
Year of manufacture:	1991
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Popayán (SKPP) - Colombia
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi
Departure airport:	Policarpa
Destination airport:	Popayán-Guillermo León Valencia Airport (PPN/SKPP)
Investigating agency:	Aerocivil
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
The helicopter had been cleared to land back at Popayán after a flight transporting valuables to various location.
An autorotation landing was carried out after a loss of control on approach.

Probable Cause:
Fracture of the right rear linkage of the transmission assembly, originating from a poor repair of all elastomeric components; this fracture caused the transmission to shift, leaving the helicopter controls in a single forward position, forcing a self-rotation that ended in a hard landing.
Contributing factor:
Erroneous maintenance practices on the part of the Operator, consisting of contracting the vulcanization of elastomer components of the transmission support links in non-aeronautical workshops, neither authorized by the manufacturer nor by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Accident investigation: