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| Date: | Wednesday 11 April 2018 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Bell 206L-3 |
| Owner/operator: | Helifly Colombia |
| Registration: | HK-4776 |
| MSN: | 51223 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1987 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 14723 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Cerro El Pinche, Cauca -
 Colombia
|
| Phase: | Standing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Popayán-Guillermo León Valencia Airport (PPN/SKPP) |
| Cerro El Pinche | |
| Investigating agency: | Aerocivil |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The Bell 206 L3 helicopter, took off at 06:20 LT (11:20 UTC) to perform a non-regular passenger transport flight. It originated from Guillermo León Valencia Airport in the city of Popayán (SKPP) in the department of Cauca, headed for Cerro El Pinche, in the district of El Plateado, municipality of Argelia, Cauca, located 59.7 NM away. The assigned mission was to transport internal cargo and one passenger to Cerro El Pinche.
The aircraft landed at 07:02 HL (12:02 UTC) at the designated safe landing site at Cerro El Pinche. Afterward, the sole passenger, who had been seated in the cockpit on the left, disembarked from the aircraft and began to remove the cargo still located in the rear of the aircraft. At the same time, the Pilot in command at the controls noticed unusual and infrequent flight characteristics, a general oscillation and strong vibration in the helicopter's structure, which hindered its controllability.
As a result of the vibration, the aircraft exhibited significant structural failures, including the detachment and separation of the main rotor at the level of the swashplate, severing of the "tailboom," broken oil lines, damage to the turbine, cabin instruments dislodged from their mounts, and the side and front cabin windows displaced from their positions.
Both the Pilot and the Passenger were unharmed.
Probable Cause(s)
Lack of caution on the part of the Pilot in applying techniques and procedures, by allowing the landed and powered aircraft to remain almost in the air, partially supporting its weight on the landing gear, keeping it slightly extended without providing the necessary damping. This led to a series of shocks that caused the main rotor blades in the system to be positioned in an unbalanced, oscillatory, and self-perpetuating angular displacement, inducing ground resonance.
Contributing Factors
Deficiencies in the physical and mental interaction between the human-equipment (human-machine) component, due to the Pilot's failure to apply logical reasoning and good judgment regarding the stability limitations of the powered aircraft during landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
COL-18-12-GIA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-May-2024 08:25 | ASN | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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