ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 156908
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| Date: | Wednesday 24 November 1999 |
| Time: | 13:30 LT |
| Type: |  Bell 206L-3 LongRanger III |
| Owner/operator: | Western Area Power Admin. |
| Registration: | N617DE |
| MSN: | 51138 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1985 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 8724 hours |
| Engine model: | Allison 250-C30P |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 8 miles S of Rifle, Colorado -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Montrose, CO (KMTJ) |
| Craig, CO (KCAG) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
While on a cross-country positioning flight in cruise flight, the helicopter's engine lost partial power, and the pilot conducted an autorotation to a field, which was rough and uneven. During the landing sequence, the lower wire cutter dug into the uneven ground, the helicopter rocked forward and the skid support cross tubes buckled aft. As the helicopter settled, a main rotor blade struck the left winglet of the horizontal stabilizer, and the tail boom was wrinkled. Examination of the engine revealed that the angular contact ball bearing on the power takeoff shaft had failed. The balls from the bearing had fallen into the gearbox oil sump, and a ball had lodged in the oil exit port, blocking the flow of oil out of the gearbox. The gearbox filled with oil, the oil tank emptied, and power section components began to overheat due to lubricating oil starvation. Engine records provided evidence that during maintenance performed 28.7 hours prior to the engine failure, repair station personnel had removed, inspected and reinstalled the failed bearing. Examination of the bearing provided evidence that it had been pressed apart and reassembled with the outer race reversed. The manufacturer authorizes no disassembly of the bearing. According to the manufacturer, with the outer race reversed, the bearing will immediately start to deteriorate when placed in service.
Probable Cause: a forced landing on rough, unsuitable terrain. A contributing factor was the partial loss of engine power, which resulted from improper maintenance by repair station personnel.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB DEN00GA022
FAA register: NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001212X20087&key=1
FAA register: 2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=617DE
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 28 October 2021 | N27TK | Helico Sonoma Inc. | 0 | Covelo, CA | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Jun-2013 14:22 | JINX | Added |
| 12-Apr-2015 16:32 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 14-Dec-2017 11:39 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Apr-2024 16:51 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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