Bell 206 B III accident near Salinas, California, March 22, 1983
On March 22, 1983 at about 9:15 pm local time, a Bell 206 B III (helicopter), registered N8163J, was destroyed in an accident near Salinas, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was 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
- March 22, 1983 · about 9:15 pm local time
- Place
- Salinas, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 206 B III · all 206 B IIIs on the register
- Registration
- N8163J · no longer on the register · serial 552
- 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
PURPOSE OF FLT WAS TO TRANSPORT A TECHNICIAN & HIS EQUIPMENT TO A MOUNTAIN TOP TO SERVICE A MICROWAVE ANTENNA SITE. CLOUD COVERAGE PRECLUDED A LANDING AT THE SITE, BUT THE PLT WAS ABLE TO LAND IN A CLEARING ON THE EASTERN RIDGE LINE ABOUT 100 YDS BELOW THE SITE. THE PAX DEPLANED, & THE PLT STATED THAT IF THE WX IMPROVED HE WOULD FLY UP TO THE SITE. AS THE PAX ARRIVED AT THE SITE, HE HEARD THE HELICOPTER START ITS ENG & PROCEED TO FLY TOWARD HIS POSITION. IT HOVERED FOR A SHORT TIME, & THEN BEGAN DESCENDING TOWARD THE SW INTO A CLOUD COVER. ABOUT 20 SECS LATER HE HEARD THE CRASH. HE LOCATED THE CRASH SITE THROUGH THE DENSE CLOUD COVER BY SMELLING THE BURNING WRECKAGE. THE ACFT WAS NOT EQUIPPED WITH A GYRO HORIZON OR INSTRUMENTED FOR IFR OPERATIONS.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 13,000 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 12,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,204 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 7, 1983; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250 C-20B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:33 pm from SNS, 13 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.
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.