Bell 206B accident near Manokotak, Alaska, March 30, 2000
On March 30, 2000, a Bell 206B (helicopter), registered N5006R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Manokotak, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Factors in the accident were low ceilings and snow, and snow-covered terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 30, 2000
- Place
- Manokotak, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Bell 206B · all 206Bs on the register
- Registration
- N5006R · no longer on the register · serial 2532
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport certificated helicopter pilot was transporting a radio technician from a remote radio repeater site as part of a government contract with the U.S. Coast Guard. After departing the repeater site, the pilot was in cruise flight about 500 feet above the ground. The weather conditions were 700 feet overcast, with a visibility of 1 to 2 miles. Snow squalls were moving through the area. The pilot said he was maintaining his visual reference to the ground by using terrain features while flying over a flat, snow-covered delta. Just before the accident, the pilot said he was utilizing a line of shrubs as a point of visual reference, but he could not see any additional visual cues beyond the line of shrubs. He decided to turn around and began a right turn. During the turn, he said he lost all visual references to the ground. He looked at the helicopter's attitude indicator, and noticed he was in a 45 degree right bank, and a 10 degree nose low attitude. He leveled the helicopter and applied collective pitch to begin a climb. The helicopter then collided with the snow. During the collision, the landing gear skids were torn off the fuselage, the main rotor blades separated from the rotor mast, and the tail boom was severed. The helicopter came to rest on its right side. The helicopter was not equipped with a radar altimeter.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 16,000 hours in all; 5,300 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,120 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 9, 2000; 23 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,200 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C20B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Tuklung AK at 11:50 pm
- Destination: PADL Dillingham AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 700 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.