Bell 206B accident near Fillmore, California, September 30, 1996
On September 30, 1996 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Bell 206B (helicopter), registered N59576, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fillmore, California. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the flight instructor's inadequate supervision and delay in taking remedial action to stop the aircraft's lateral movement, which resulted in a dynamic rollover after touchdown.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 30, 1996 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Fillmore, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 206B · all 206Bs on the register
- Registration
- N59576 · no longer on the register · serial 1473
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the flight instructor (CFI), he and the student pilot were on an instructional flight, and the student was performing hovering autorotations to a clear, moist, sandy area of a river bed. The CFI reported that the student began an autorotation from a 3-foot hover when, about 1 foot above the ground, the helicopter began to drift to the left. The CFI took the controls and applied right cyclic as the rotor rpm continued to decay. His control input did not stop the helicopter's accelerating leftward movement. As the left skid touched down on sandy terrain, the helicopter experienced a dynamic rollover and rolled onto its left side. The wind at the accident site was estimated to be westerly at about 10 knots.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,810 hours in all; 1,015 in this make and model; 44 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 2,600 as pilot in command; 170 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 28,844 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 20, 1996; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,200 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250C20J (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: WHP Los Angeles CA at 7:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:47 pm from VNY, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.