ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 38672
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Date: | Wednesday 12 February 1992 |
Time: | 11:40 |
Type: | Bell 206L-3 LongRanger III |
Owner/operator: | KUSA Television |
Registration: | N99TV |
MSN: | 51280 |
Year of manufacture: | 1989 |
Total airframe hrs: | 1295 hours |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3 |
Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | Horsetooth Reservoir, Fort Collins, Colorado -
United States of America
|
Phase: | Landing |
Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
Departure airport: | Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado (DEN/KDEN) |
Destination airport: | Fort Collins, Colorado (3V5) |
Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:The helicopter was destroyed when it crashed into the ice covered waters of Horsetooth Reservoir whilst en route from Stapleton International Airport, Denver to Fort Collins. The accident happened in daylight but in IMC with thick fog banks over the surface of the reservoir.
At the time of the accident the helicopter was being ferried to Century Helicopters at Fort Collins for a routine blade track test. While in cruise flight a loss of engine power occurred when the No.2-1/2 bearing failed due to oil starvation. The oil starvation resulted from an obstruction in the bearing oil feed tube by a particle of foreign material. There was evidence that the material was introduced into the system during overhaul, about 9 flight hours before the accident.
The pilot made an auto-rotation through dense fog to the surface of the reservoir, which contained patches of ice. The helicopter sank in 190 feet of water. Water temperature was 30 degrees F, air temperature was 34 degrees F, and wind was 170 degrees at 8 knots. According to available information, useful conscious time under these conditions would have been about 15 minutes. The first rescue personnel reached the pilot approximately 45 min after the accident. The pilot was the only person on the surface at that time. The other two persons on board were killed, presumed drowned when they went down with the helicopter when it sank.
The NTSB determined the probable cause to be: Failure of the number 2-1/2 bearing due to an obstruction of a bearing oil feed tube by foreign material. Factors related to the accident were: improper maintenance during engine overhaul, and weather/ground/water conditions in the emergency landing area.
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: DEN92FA034 at
https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001211X14096&key=1 2. FAA:
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=99TV Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
24-Oct-2008 10:30 |
ASN archive |
Added |
26-Apr-2016 18:05 |
Dr.John Smith |
Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
26-Apr-2016 18:06 |
Dr.John Smith |
Updated [Departure airport] |
21-Dec-2016 19:23 |
ASN Update Bot |
Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
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