Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents
Learn from Colorado's accident history to fly safer in the Rockies
2310 Total Accidents
425 Fatal
816 Fatalities
1982-2026
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Minor/None
LAKEWOOD, Colorado
NTSB Narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On April 18, 2000, at 1021 mountain daylight time, a Bell 206L-3 helicopter, N937S, sustained substantial damage during an emergency autorotative landing near Red Rocks Mountain Park, Lakewood, Colorado. The airline transport certificated pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this business flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Kremmling, Colorado, at 0950.
According to the pilot, he was in a descent at about 9,500 feet above mean sea level (msl) en route to Centennial Airport, Englewood, Colorado, (approximately 110 degrees magnetic heading at 20 miles) when he heard a "loud bang" from the rear of the helicopter. The pilot said he attempted to move the tail rotor control pedals but got no response so he performed an autorotation to a landing in a field. During the descent, the helicopter spun several times. During the landing, with about 5 knots forward speed, the lower wire cutter dug into the uneven terrain, the skids collapsed when the cross tubes rolled aft, and the tail boom flexed downward which buckled the boom at the forward attach point. The main rotor blades were not damaged. The pilot performed a normal shutdown and he and his passenger exited the helicopter.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot held an airline transport certificate (helicopter) with a type rating in the Bell 206 and Bell 212. He held a commercial pilot certificate in single engine and multiengine land airplanes. He did not have an instrument rating.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records provided information that the pilot held a second-class medical certificate with the limitation that he wear corrective lenses. His medical certificate was issued on August 17, 1999.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The helicopter, serial number 51258, was manufactured in 1988. Total time on the airframe was 4,832.4 hours. It was owned and operated by Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company.
The tail rotor gearbox was part number 206-040-402-003, serial number A-1526.
The tail rotor hub assembly was part number 206-011-810-139, serial number A-6062.
The tail rotor blades were part number 206-016-201-127, serial numbers CS 5960 and CS 5963. The tail rotor blades were installed as new blades on January 16, 1994, and had 1,958.1 hours accumulated time. According to information provided by the FAA, Rotorcraft Directorate, Composite Structures, LLC, Monrovia, California, manufactured the tail rotor blades. The service life on the blades was 2,400 hours.
Applicable Airworthiness Directives addressing tail rotor blades with the above part numbers were reviewed. The blade serial numbers did not come within the purview of the directives.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
Terrain features at the accident site consisted of an open field sloping approximately 6 degrees up from southwest to northeast. The surface was rough and uneven with a
On April 18, 2000, at 1021 mountain daylight time, a Bell 206L-3 helicopter, N937S, sustained substantial damage during an emergency autorotative landing near Red Rocks Mountain Park, Lakewood, Colorado. The airline transport certificated pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this business flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Kremmling, Colorado, at 0950.
According to the pilot, he was in a descent at about 9,500 feet above mean sea level (msl) en route to Centennial Airport, Englewood, Colorado, (approximately 110 degrees magnetic heading at 20 miles) when he heard a "loud bang" from the rear of the helicopter. The pilot said he attempted to move the tail rotor control pedals but got no response so he performed an autorotation to a landing in a field. During the descent, the helicopter spun several times. During the landing, with about 5 knots forward speed, the lower wire cutter dug into the uneven terrain, the skids collapsed when the cross tubes rolled aft, and the tail boom flexed downward which buckled the boom at the forward attach point. The main rotor blades were not damaged. The pilot performed a normal shutdown and he and his passenger exited the helicopter.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot held an airline transport certificate (helicopter) with a type rating in the Bell 206 and Bell 212. He held a commercial pilot certificate in single engine and multiengine land airplanes. He did not have an instrument rating.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records provided information that the pilot held a second-class medical certificate with the limitation that he wear corrective lenses. His medical certificate was issued on August 17, 1999.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The helicopter, serial number 51258, was manufactured in 1988. Total time on the airframe was 4,832.4 hours. It was owned and operated by Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company.
The tail rotor gearbox was part number 206-040-402-003, serial number A-1526.
The tail rotor hub assembly was part number 206-011-810-139, serial number A-6062.
The tail rotor blades were part number 206-016-201-127, serial numbers CS 5960 and CS 5963. The tail rotor blades were installed as new blades on January 16, 1994, and had 1,958.1 hours accumulated time. According to information provided by the FAA, Rotorcraft Directorate, Composite Structures, LLC, Monrovia, California, manufactured the tail rotor blades. The service life on the blades was 2,400 hours.
Applicable Airworthiness Directives addressing tail rotor blades with the above part numbers were reviewed. The blade serial numbers did not come within the purview of the directives.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
Terrain features at the accident site consisted of an open field sloping approximately 6 degrees up from southwest to northeast. The surface was rough and uneven with a
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Details
| NTSB Report | DEN00FA074 |
| Aircraft | Bell 206L-3 |
| Registration | N937S |
| Damage | SUBS |
| FAR Part | 091 |
| Location | 39.7410, -105.0705 |
