Bell 206B accident near Mcknley Park, Alaska, March 15, 1985
On March 15, 1985 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Bell 206B (helicopter), registered N58111, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mcknley Park, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 15, 1985 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Mcknley Park, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 206B · all 206Bs on the register
- Registration
- N58111 · no longer on the register · serial 001082
- 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
DURING TAKEOFF THE HELICOPTER CONTACTED A .081 INCH COPPER WIRE WHICH WAS STRUNG ACROSS THE RIVER AT AN ALT OF APRX 15 FT. THE WIRE BECAME ENTANGLED IN THE TAIL ROTOR RESULTING IN CONTROL DIFFICULTIES, HOWEVER, THE PLT WAS ABLE TO LAND THE HELICOPTER APRX 1/2 MILE FROM THE WIRE STRIKE LOCATION.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,279 hours in all; 2,279 in this make and model; 99 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 1,929 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,690 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 22, 1985; 93 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison C250-C20 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TKA Talkeetna AK at 6:00 pm
- Destination: MTF Fairbanks AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 7°F (-14°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.