Bell 206B accident near Deadhorse, Alaska, July 8, 1999
On July 8, 1999 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Bell 206B (helicopter), registered N47122, was substantially damaged in an accident near Deadhorse, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A failure of the pilot-in-command to perform an adequate preflight inspection, and remove a rotor blade tie-down strap.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 8, 1999 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Deadhorse, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 206B · all 206Bs on the register
- Registration
- N47122 · no longer on the register · serial 971
- 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 pilot for an on-demand helicopter company was beginning a flight that was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) U.S. Government flight by the U.S Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management. The pilot loaded his passengers into the helicopter at a remote biological survey site. He then began an engine start, but a main rotor blade tie-down strap was still attached to one of the rotor blades. As the rotor blades began to turn, the strap struck the upper end of the vertical stabilizer, crushing the leading edge in an aft direction. The helicopter's tail boom was deformed and wrinkled, just forward of the tail rotor gear box.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,500 hours in all; 1,100 in this make and model; 6,000 as pilot in command; 1,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,274 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 60 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,200 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison C20B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.