Bell UH-1B accident near Carrabasset, Maine, August 31, 1994
On August 31, 1994 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Bell UH-1B (helicopter), registered N204JB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Carrabasset, Maine. It was a business flight 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
Fracture failure of the tail rotor drive intermediate gearbox.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 31, 1994 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Carrabasset, Maine
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell UH-1B · all UH-1Bs on the register
- Registration
- N204JB · registry record · serial 63-13088
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS ENGAGED IN AN EXTERNAL LOAD OPERATION POURING CONCRETE FROM BUCKETS FOR A NEW SKI LIFT WHEN HE HEARD A LOUD 'BANG' NOISE FOLLOWED BY A GROWLING NOISE AND THE AIRCRAFT NOSE ATTEMPTING TO TURN RIGHT. HE STATED THAT HE ENTERED AUTOROTATION AND LANDED HARD ON UPSLOPING TERRAIN, COLLAPSING THE LANDING SKID. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED FRACTURE FAILURE OF THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SYSTEM INTERMEDIDATE GEAR BOX (42 DEGS).
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 30,000 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 2,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,502 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 26, 1994; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,500 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming T53-L-11D (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ME at 1:30 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 pm from AUG, 48 miles away
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 N204JB 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.