Aerospatiale SA-315B accident near Afton, Wyoming, August 9, 1982
On August 9, 1982 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Aerospatiale SA-315B (helicopter), registered N10067, was destroyed in an accident near Afton, Wyoming. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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
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
- August 9, 1982 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Afton, Wyoming · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale SA-315B · all SA-315Bs on the register
- Registration
- N10067 · registry record · serial 2276
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
EN ROUTE DURING A SEISMIC OPERATION A LOUD SCREECHING, GRINDING SOUND WAS HEARD. THE PILOT REPORTED THE AIRCRAFT SEEMED TO BUCK. A LONG FLAME EMITTING FROM THE AFT END OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED BY WITNESSES. THE ENGINE CEASED AND THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO TREES. ENGINE DISASSEMBLY REVEALED SUBSTANTIAL INTERNAL DAMAGE TO THE AFT AXIAL COMPRESSOR BEARING, AXIAL COMPRESSOR BLADES AND DIFFUSER BLADES. TWO SECTIONS OF THE NO.3 STATOR BLADE WERE EXAMINED AND REVEALED SURFACE MARKINGS INDICATIVE OF FATIGUE.
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: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,350 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,418 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,300 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbo-Meca ARTOUSTE IIIB (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Fire in flight and on the ground
- Operator: Blain Sales, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: Afton WY
- Destination: Afton WY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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.