14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, October 10, 2012 in Crowley, LA
Aircraft: BELL 206B, registration: N333DR
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. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On October 10, 2012, approximately 1155 central daylight time, a Bell 206B, N333DR, was substantially damaged when it impacted a guy-wire on a broadcast tower and then terrain, near Crowley, Louisiana. The private pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was registered to Pintail Lodge and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated without a flight plan. The flight originated from Broussard, Louisiana, approximately 1135 and was en route to Beaumont, Texas.
According to a witness performing maintenance on the broadcast tower, he initially observed the helicopter ½ mile to the east of the broadcast tower, flying towards the broadcast tower. When the helicopter was approximately 60 feet from the broadcast tower, the helicopter banked to the left, as if to avoid hitting the broadcast tower and subsequently struck the No. 4 guy-wire on the south side of the broadcast tower. When the helicopter struck the wire the helicopter veered back to the right and started to descend towards terrain. The witness did not observe or hear anything abnormal with the helicopter prior to the impact with the wire.
Debris from the helicopter extended several hundred yards to the west of the broadcast tower. The main rotor assembly and the aft portion of the tail boom, to include the tail rotor and vertical fin, were located in a crawfish pond between the broadcast tower and a service road between two ponds. The main wreckage, to include the cabin, fuselage, engine and transmission assembly, the forward portion of the tail boom and both horizontal fins, came to rest on the service road between the two crawfish ponds on an approximate heading of west.
UPDATE: Funeral arrangements have been made for a Beaumont helicopter pilot who died in an accident earlier this week.
Hugh Clifton Kelley, 66, of Beaumont, died in a helicopter crash Wednesday.
A gathering of Mr. Kelley's family and friends will be from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., Sunday, October 14, 2012, at Broussard's located at 2000 McFaddin Avenue in Beaumont. His funeral service will be 11:00 a.m., Monday, October 15, 2012 at Wesley United Methodist Church located at 3810 North Major Drive in Beaumont
Internment will follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Beaumont.
According to our affiliate at KATC, officials say Kelley's helicopter crashed into guy wires near a radio tower. He was the only person on board the helicopter during the accident.
Officials also say the helicopter was registered to Pintail Lodge of Beaumont. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
LYONS POINT - A helicopter apparently flying too low crashed in a field near Lyons Point Thursday morning killing the Texas pilot and cutting a guidewire that was attached to an antennae belonging to KSIG radio.
“We received a phone call of at helicopter down at 10:44 a.m. this morning,” said Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office Public Information Director Maxine Trahan. “Witnesses said the helicopter was flying too low and hit a guidewire which was one of several helping to hold up the antennae.”
Several people along Benton Rd. were worried that the antennae may fall due to the wire being cut. However, Trahan said that nobody in the area was in any danger.
“The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) are currently on the way,” said Trahan. “Until then we are securing the area simply for safety purposes.”
“I heard the copter fly over and it did sound like it was right over my house,” said an area resident. “Then I heard a thud and a sound that may have been the chopper blades hitting the ground. I thought that don’t sound right”
http://www.zacharytoday.com
http://registry.faa.gov/N333DR
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 333DR Make/Model: B206 Description: BELL 206B HELICOPTER
Date: 10/10/2012 Time: 1710
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: CROWLEY State: LA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
N333DR BELL 206B ROTORCRAFT STRUCK A RADIO TOWER AND CRASHED, THE 1 PERSON
ON BOARD WAS FATALLY INJURED, 7 MILES FROM CROWLEY, LA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: BATON ROUGE, LA (SW03) Entry date: 10/11/2012
