Bell 222B accident near Tranquility, California, July 30, 1998
On July 30, 1998 at about 5:48 am local time, a Bell 222B (helicopter), registered N911RA, was destroyed in an accident near Tranquility, California. It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's delayed initiation of a go-around when the severity of the dust condition first became apparent. Contributing factors were dark night conditions and the obscuration from the dust.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 30, 1998 · about 5:48 am local time
- Place
- Tranquility, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 222B · all 222Bs on the register
- Registration
- N911RA · registry record · serial 47150
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The purpose of the flight was to air-evac two victims of an automobile crash on a local highway. Responding sheriff and fire ground units to the traffic accident set up a landing zone in a farmyard. The pilot and ground witnesses described the landing zone as a confined dirt lot roughly 150 feet square surrounded by silos, power lines, trees, and buildings. Emergency vehicles were using their headlights to illuminate the landing area and a fire person was functioning as a ground guide for the landing. After making three high recon orbits around the landing site the pilot made the landing approach, and, as the helicopter neared touchdown it was 'engulfed in a large cloud of dust very quickly' to the point where visual contact with the ground was lost. The pilot said he tried to focus on the ground through the chin bubble window and added collective in an attempt to climb out of the dust; however, the right wheel touched down and the helicopter rolled over. A deputy sheriff 60 feet from the landing spot said that as the helicopter descended from 15 to 3 feet above the ground a dust cloud began to form, which thickened until the only thing he could see of the aircraft was the landing lights and the front wheel. The helicopter suddenly dropped to the ground and bounced on its wheels and then the deputy heard the engine noise increase in pitch and sound. It rose about 3 feet off the ground, drifted to the right about 6 feet, and then rolled over. The moon was located 10.9 degrees above the western horizon with only 38 percent of the disk illuminated.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,649 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days; 4,250 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,050 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 3, 1998; 63 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,250 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming LTS 101-750C1 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FAT Fresno CA at 5:20 am
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 310° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:56 am from FAT, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
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.