Bell 206B3 accident near Panama City, Florida, August 24, 2004
On August 24, 2004 at about 10:20 pm local time, a Bell 206B3 (helicopter), registered N107PH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Panama City, Florida (Panama City Bay County Interna airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Inadequate maintenance inspection resulting in the partial loss of engine power due to a loose pneumatic line on the governor and ditching of the helicopter.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 24, 2004 · about 10:20 pm local time
- Place
- Panama City, Florida · Panama City Bay County Interna · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 206B3 · all 206B3s on the register
- Registration
- N107PH · registry record · serial 2789
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated he flew out from Panama City-Bay County International Airport to survey a boat located on Deer Point Lake, approximately 8 miles northeast of the airport. With an altitude of about 50 feet and a forward airspeed around 35 to 40 mph he entered a circling maneuver. While flying upwind he reduced engine RPM, and as he turned downwind, he pulled up on the collective, but felt the helicopter sinking instead of climbing. He then looked at the engine instruments and saw the rotor RPM going below 85%. Immediately, he pushed the collective down, but was unable to regain RPM. He deployed emergency floats about 10 feet above the water. The helicopter hit the water "hard" in about 4 feet of water and then rolled onto its right side, due to the right flotation bag being torn off upon impacting the water. The FAA inspector who responded to the accident stated, upon inspection of the helicopter, after recovery, it was found that a pneumatic tubing line had backed off the governor and caused the engine to go to minimum RPM. The governor was last installed 500 hours before the accident and showed signs of a torque seal on the B-nut. The pneumatic line that backed off the fitting is located on the backside of the governor and is hard to see and check for proper torque during routine maintenance.
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: instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 12,000 hours in all; 38,200 in this make and model; 84 in the last 90 days; 11,500 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 154,430 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 20, 2004; 823 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,200 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rolls-Royce C250-20B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KPFN Panama City FL at 11:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:38 pm from KPFN, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA04LA123.