Bell 206L-3 accident near Indian Trail, North Carolina, May 25, 1998
On May 25, 1998 at about 4:32 am local time, a Bell 206L-3 (helicopter), registered N96CW, was destroyed in an accident near Indian Trail, North Carolina (Monroe Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 5 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain altitude while operating in adverse weather. A contributing factor was the incoming fog and high tension static wire.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 25, 1998 · about 4:32 am local time · cases in 1998
- Place
- Indian Trail, North Carolina · Monroe Airport · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Bell 206L-3 · all 206L-3s on the register
- Registration
- N96CW · registry record · serial 51286
- 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
According to US Helicopters, Inc., the pilot was conducting passenger transport from the Charlotte Motor Speedway to various destinations in the Charlotte area. The pilot was on his last trip of the day, and departed the Speedway with four passengers on board destined for the Monroe Airport. Prior to departing the Speedway, the pilot informed a co-worker that weather at the time was VFR with 3 miles visibility. According to the co-worker, the pilot had last reported that he was proceeding east along highway 74, about 0025. Witnesses, in the immediate area, said they observed the helicopter flying low, in fog, with its lights on. The report from the Monroe ASOS (Automatic Surface Observation System) located on Monroe Airport was 300 feet overcast sky condition, 1.75 miles visibility in mist. At about 0032 the helicopters skids contacted a high-tension static ground wire about 150 feet above the ground.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,300 hours in all; 262 in this make and model; 5,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,328 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 6, 1998; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,150 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C30P (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PVT Charlotte NC at 5:15 am
- Destination: EQY Monroe NC
- Runway 0, 5,500 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:51 am from CLT, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N96CW on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Bell 206 JetRanger and LongRanger 1,453 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Bell 3,079 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Allison 250-C30P 25 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Charlotte/Monroe Executive · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in North Carolina 1,762 since 1982 · 305 in the last ten years
- North Carolina 7,118 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ATL98FA080.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.