Bell 206 crash near Conroe, TX, United States

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 13, 2008, at 1109 central daylight time, a Bell 206L-4, N6ZV, was destroyed when it collided with trees and impacted terrain near Conroe, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The business flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The commercial pilot and news photographer-passenger on board the helicopter were fatally injured. The flight originated in Houston, Texas, approximately 1040, and was en route to Magnolia, Texas. The helicopter had flown earlier that morning. Upon its return, it was fueled to capacity with 44.0 gallons of Jet-A fuel. A report was received that there had been a shooting near Magnolia, Texas, and police were in pursuit of a suspect. The helicopter took off from Houston's Hobby Airport approximately 1040, and was en route to cover the breaking news story. Radar tracking of the helicopter through Houston Intercontinental Airport's airspace revealed the altitude varied between 500 and 700 feet above mean sea level(msl). One witness reported seeing the helicopter flying approximately 350 feet above the ground from south to north when it nosed over and entered "a sharp 70 degree downward flight." Another witness, who was driving a truck towards Route 45, also saw the helicopter in a steep right bank. He said the helicopter nosed down steeply (approximately the 8 o'clock position) and dove towards the ground. He lost sight of the helicopter when it was 2 to 3 feet above the tree line. A third witness was in the Windsor Hills subdivision adjacent to the James State Park. He said the helicopter was flying approximately 100 to 300 feet at "normal power" when it suddenly banked sharply to the right (approximately 70 degrees), and he could see the rotor disk as it dove into the trees. The burning wreckage was located in the W.G. Jones State Forest, near the intersection of Peoples Road and FM 1488. Both occupants were ejected and fatally injured. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilot, age 43, held a commercial pilot certificate, dated January 29, 2002, with airplane single and multiengine land, rotorcraft-helicopter, instrument-airplane, and instrument-helicopter ratings. He held a second class airman medical certificate, dated December 20, 2007, with no restrictions or limitations. The pilot was hired by Helicopters, Inc., on September 1, 2003. His recurrent ground school was satisfactorily completed on February 3, 2008, and his recurrent flight training was satisfactorily completed on May 28, 2008. His most recent Part 135 check ride was accomplished on May 28, 2008. According to the company, the pilot had logged the following flight time: Total Time: 6,105 hours Rotorcraft: 5,805 hours Bell 206L-4: 2,450 hours According to his Crew Duty Report, the pilot had been off-duty for two days prior to the accident. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONN6ZV, a model 206L-4 (s.n. 52046), was manufactured by the Bell Helicopter Corporation in 1998. It was equipped with an Allison 250-C30P turboshaft engine (s.n. CAE-895709), rated at 650 shaft horsepower. According to the helicopter maintenance records, the helicopter was maintained under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91.409(f). The last 100-hour inspection was performed on October 6, 2008. At that time, the airframe had accrued 7,992 total hours, and the engine had accrued 8,177 cycles and 7,978 total hours. The helicopter's registered owner was Air Sansone, LLC, of Linden, New Jersey. It was leased to Helicopters, Inc., of Cahokia, Illinois. The latter provided helicopters and pilots to various companies, including Westwood One, which owned Metro Networks. Metro Networks then provided the helicopter and crew to Houston's KTRK-TV, an ABC affiliate. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe following weather observation was recorded at 1127 at David Wayne Hooks Airport (DWH), located 19 miles south-southwest of the accident site: Wind, 110 degrees at 7 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles; sky condition, 1,600 feet scattered, 7,000 feet overcast; temperature, 27 degrees Celsius (C.); dew point, 22 degrees C.; altimeter, 30.12 inches of Mercury. AIRPORT INFORMATIONN6ZV, a model 206L-4 (s.n. 52046), was manufactured by the Bell Helicopter Corporation in 1998. It was equipped with an Allison 250-C30P turboshaft engine (s.n. CAE-895709), rated at 650 shaft horsepower. According to the helicopter maintenance records, the helicopter was maintained under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91.409(f). The last 100-hour inspection was performed on October 6, 2008. At that time, the airframe had accrued 7,992 total hours, and the engine had accrued 8,177 cycles and 7,978 total hours. The helicopter's registered owner was Air Sansone, LLC, of Linden, New Jersey. It was leased to Helicopters, Inc., of Cahokia, Illinois. The latter provided helicopters and pilots to various companies, including Westwood One, which owned Metro Networks. Metro Networks then provided the helicopter and crew to Houston's KTRK-TV, an ABC affiliate. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe on-scene investigation commenced on October 14, 2008. There was a hole in the tree tops. The angle from this hole to the first point of impact was measured to be 72 degrees. At this first point of impact, a portion of the right skid was found embedded in the ground at a 25 degree angle. After hitting the ground, the helicopter traveled approximately 40 feet on a heading of 085 degrees before striking another tree with the main rotor mast. Two linear and parallel ground scars were noted between the trees and main wreckage. The helicopter came to rest on a magnetic heading of 105 degrees. Most of the helicopter, including the cockpit and fuselage, was destroyed by impact forces and post-crash fire. Both main rotor blades bore evidence of tree strikes. One blade was broken in three pieces. The grips of the other blade remained attached to the hub, its composite blade destroyed by the fire. Its metal leading edge lay nearby. The rotor hub remained attached to the rotor mast. The clevis ends of the pitch change tubes remained attached to their respective horns. The pitch and collective control rods remained attached to their linkages, and the linkages were attached to their respective servos. Control continuity was established between the control rods and the servos. Continuity beyond the servos could not be established due to fire damage. The main driveshaft was burned away from the transmission. When the main rotor blade was turned, rotation of the main input drive quill was observed. The freewheeling unit could not be turned by hand. The tail boom sustained extensive fire damage. The aft portion of the driveshaft was fractured in torsional overload. Control continuity was established from the fracture aft to the tail rotor. One tail rotor blade was straight and the other blade was bent 90 degrees to the plane of rotation. Most of the horizontal stabilizer, synchronized elevator, and finlets were consumed by fire, but no evidence of a main rotor blade strike was noted. The tail rotor driveshaft sustained impact and fire damage, and a torsional fracture was noted. Tail rotor continuity was seen by moving the control tube and observing blade pitch changes. Field examination of the engine revealed the connector nut on the pneumatic control line (Pg) from the power turbine governor to the accumulator connector rotated with some resistance by hand. All other intact air, oil, and fuel line connections were tight when checked by hand. FLIGHT RECORDERSThe helicopter was equipped with a video camera. Whenever the camera was not in use, it was kept in a stowed position and aimed towards the left rear skid of the helicopter at a 45 degree angle. KTRK-TV provided a DVD copy of the video tape, and it was sent to NTSB's Vehicle Recorder Laboratory for review. According to the Video Specialist's Factual Report, the recording was 1