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Accidents · NTSB DCA16RA014 · Preliminary: the investigation is not finished

Bell Helicopter Textron INC 609 accident near Tronzano Vercellese, It, October 30, 2015

On October 30, 2015 at about 8:00 am local time, a 2003 Bell Helicopter Textron INC 609, registered N609AG, was destroyed in an accident during maneuvering near Tronzano Vercellese. It was a flight test under non-U.S. private rules. 2 people were killed.

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
October 30, 2015 · about 8:00 am local time
Place
Tronzano Vercellese, Italy · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
2 people were killed.
Weather
not recorded
Aircraft
Bell Helicopter Textron INC 609 NO SERIES, built 2003
Registration
N609AG · registry record · serial 60002
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Flight test · non-U.S. private rules

The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record

import

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

What happened, in order

  1. Loss of control in flight during maneuvering defining event

The aircraft

  • Landing gear: retractable
  • Fire on the ground

Weather at the time

  • Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Flight crew2

Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report

The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check 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.