Bell 206L-1 accident near Pollockville, North Carolina, January 9, 1987
On January 9, 1987 at about 2:15 am local time, a Bell 206L-1 (helicopter), registered N5004Q, was destroyed in an accident near Pollockville, North Carolina. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were killed. 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
- January 9, 1987 · about 2:15 am local time
- Place
- Pollockville, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 206L-1 · all 206L-1s on the register
- Registration
- N5004Q · no longer on the register · serial 45168
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE EMERG MED SVC (EMS/MED-EVAC) HELICOPTER (HEL) WAS ON A NGT FLT WITH A 3 MONTH OLD PATIENT ABOARD. AFTER RPRTG LVL AT3000', THE PLT TRANSMITTED HE WAS GOING TO MAKE AN EMERG LNDG. THIS WAS FLWD BY SVRL UNREADABLE TRANSMISSIONS WHICH APCHCTL PSNL THOUGHT WERE IN REF TO AN ONBOARD FIRE. AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, A FLT NURSE TRANSMITTED ON THE HOSPITAL FREQ THAT THEY WERE ON-FIRE & WERE GOING DOWN. SOON THEREAFTER, RADAR & RADIO CTC WERE LOST. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE HEL CRASHED INA SLGT NOSE DOWN, RGT BANK ATTITUDE & BURNED. IT WAS EXTENSIVELY DMGD BY IMPACT & FIRE. CRASH DMG REVEALED THE HEL HAD IMPACTED AT A HI VERTICAL VELOCITY & WITH LITTLE OR NO FWD MOVEMENT. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION OF THE ENG ORAIRFRAME WAS FND. THE HEL HAD BEEN MODIFIED (MOD) FOR EMS OPNS IAW 4 SUPPLEMENTAL TYPE CERTIFICATES (STC'S). THE MODS INCLUDED INSTLN OF A HI PRES OXYGEN (O2) SYS. DRG THE ACDNT, SVRL O2 LNS FAILED FM IMPACT OR FIRE, WHICH CREATED A BLOW TORCH EFFECT. THERE WAS NO PROVISION FOR EMERG SHUT-OFF OF THE O2 AT OR NR THE CYLINDERS. SOURCE OF FIRE WAS NOT FND.
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: instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,365 hours in all; 1,448 in this make and model; 29 in the last 90 days; 3,115 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,626 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 19, 1985; 23 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C28B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Fire in flight and on the ground
- Operator: Omniflight Airways, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: Jacksonville NC at 1:58 am
- Destination: Greenville NC
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:45 am from OAJ, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| 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.