NTSB Summaries

December 6, 2002

WATCH THOSE LINES NEAR KINGMAN, ARIZONA!

FROM NTSB Monthly Summaries

NTSB Monthly Summaries

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NTSB Identification: ANC03LA015

Accident occurred Friday, November 15, 2002 at Kingman, AZ

Aircraft:Bell 206B, registration: N16962

Injuries: 1 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On November 15, 2002, about 1630 mountain standard time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N16962, sustained substantial damage during an in-flight collision with terrain after striking a power line about 15 miles northwest of Kingman, Arizona. The helicopter was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo private pilot sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at Saint George Municipal Airport, Saint George, Utah, about 1530, and was bound for Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on November 15, a sergeant for the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said his office received a cellular telephone call from a motorist, advising of the helicopter accident. He said when he arrived at the accident site, he saw a debris field about 50 yards long perpendicular to a line of power poles. He said the poles were about 60 feet high with two power lines stretched between each pole. He said the site was in a fairly remote area of the desert, and that the power lines terminated at a ranch several miles from the accident site. He said the two power lines were stacked vertically on the poles, and the top line was about 4 feet above the lower line. He said the lower power line appeared to have been cut by the helicopter between two of the poles, and the top power line was intact.

NTSB Identification: LAX03LA027

Accident occurred Sunday, November 10, 2002 at Kingman, AZ

Aircraft:Aerospatiale AS350B, registration: N909WA

Injuries: 2 Minor, 1 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On November 10, 2002, about 1155 hours mountain standard time, an Aerospatiale AS350B, N909WA, collided with a transmission line and impacted the terrain near Kingman, Arizona. The pilot was operating the helicopter under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. Two passengers sustained minor injuries and the pilot was not injured. The helicopter sustained substantial damage. The local flight departed Kingman airport about 15 minutes earlier that day to shoot an aerial photographic sequence. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

The pilot reported that he was filming a motor home for the "Ripley's Believe It or Not" television series. The helicopter was crabbing sideways, paralleling highway 66 as it impacted the transmission line. Both he and another crewmember had noticed the transmission line just before the impact. By then one rotor blade had struck, sending the helicopter into a descent. There were no mechanical or weather issues.