Bell 206-B2 accident near Sutton, Alaska, October 15, 1997
On October 15, 1997 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Bell 206-B2 (helicopter), registered N86TA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sutton, Alaska (Sutton-Jonesville Mine airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under external-load helicopter rules (Part 133). 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 pilot's failure to maintain clearance between the tail rotor and the external long line cable, and the subsequent entanglement of the tail rotor with the long line.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 15, 1997 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Sutton, Alaska · Sutton-Jonesville Mine · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 206-B2 · all 206-B2s on the register
- Registration
- N86TA · no longer on the register · serial 1647
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The helicopter was being landed after completion of an external load lift. The long line suspended from the helicopter became entangled in a tree. The tail rotor subsequently became entangled in the long line. The pilot stated that the helicopter landed hard, and the tail boom, tail rotor, and tail gear box sustained damage.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 8,605 hours in all; 3,855 in this make and model; 255 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 8,605 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,269 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 3, 1997; 68 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,200 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C20 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAQ Palmer AK at 11:00 am
- Destination: JVM
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 045° at 20 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°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.
Other NTSB records under N86TA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.