Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On June 20, 1999, at 1312 mountain daylight time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N39122, landed hard on a road approximately 200 yards short of the point of intended landing at Telluride Regional Airport, Telluride, Colorado. One commercial pilot and one passenger received serious injuries and the other commercial pilot and passenger received minor injuries. The helicopter sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this local area business flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed Telluride at 1221.

According to the operator, the flight was for the purpose of introducing local persons to the operation of the helicopter as an air tour vehicle operated under Title 14 CFR Part 135 doing business as Helicopter Services Telluride (HST). A Part 135 operating certificate had not yet been issued. At the time of the accident two local persons were being given a ride to introduce them to the service and the company pilot was building experience with oversight provided by a safety pilot hired by the operator from Western Slope Helicopters, Montrose, Colorado. According to the owner of Western Slope Helicopters, the safety pilot was provided to satisfy insurance requirements.

The company pilot did not provide a statement; however, according to the safety pilot, they were on approach to the deicing pad at Telluride Regional Airport with the company pilot, who had been at the controls for the entire flight, flying the helicopter from the left seat.

According to the safety pilot, about 100 to 150 feet above the ground, on a heading of 270 degrees the pilot flying allowed the helicopter to "slow up too much" and the airspeed went to zero and the sink rate increased rapidly. As he reached for the controls he said the pilot flying "made a significant collective increase drooping RPM and starting a right yaw/spin." At this point, according to the safety pilot, the company pilot took his hands from the controls and said, "you've got it." The safety pilot said he took control, applied forward cyclic, down collective, and "throttle" to idle to stop the spin. He said he then tried to cushion the landing with up collective. The helicopter landed hard with no forward speed and no yaw on a heading of 060 degrees.

A passenger, seated in the left rear seat, provided information that the company pilot did all the flying on the accident flight, and that she noticed him "clutching" the controls during the second spin before impact. Her recollections as to events were the same as the information provided by the safety pilot.

An examination of the helicopter provided no evidence of preimpact structural or system failure or malfunction. The examination did provide evidence of impact related vertical loading beyond the structural capability of the helicopter. (See attached photographs.)

Weather conditions reported by the Telluride airport at the time of the accident were 6,000 foot