Bell 206L-3 incident near Little Rock, Arkansas, December 10, 1987
On December 10, 1987 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Bell 206L-3 (helicopter), registered N86CH, was destroyed in an incident near Little Rock, Arkansas (Childrens Hosp Heliport airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under rules the NTSB did not record. The NTSB record does not give the injuries. 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 incident. 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
- December 10, 1987 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Little Rock, Arkansas · Childrens Hosp Heliport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 206L-3 · all 206L-3s on the register
- Registration
- N86CH · registry record
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · rules the NTSB did not record
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AN EMS HELO WAS CONSUMED IN A FIRE WHILE PARKED AT A HOSPITAL HELIPORT. THE HELO HAD RECENTLY RETURNED FM A MEDEVAC FLT AND THE ON-BOARD PATIENT OXYGEN PRESSURE WAS LOW. TWO RESPIRATORY THERAPISTS PARTICIPATED IN REFILLING THE SYSTEM AFTER THE FLT. THE SYSTEM IS SERVICED VIA A REAR BAGGAGE COMPARTMENT, ACCESSED FM OUTSIDE THE ACFT. THE ATTENDANTS INDICATED THAT AFTER THE CONNECTION WAS MADE AND THE VALVE WAS PARTIALLY OPENED, A FIRE ERUPTED NEAR THE CONNECTION. SUBSEQUENT TO THE FIRE, ONE OF THE THERAPISTS REMEMBERED THE PRESENCE OF OIL ABV THE BAGGAGE DOOR. THIS AREA OF OIL WAS NOT WIPED CLEAN PRIOR TO COMMENCING THE FILL OPERATION. SUBSEQUENT TO THE FIRE, THE VALVE WAS TESTED AND SIGNIFICANT LEAKING AT THE CONNECTION WAS PRESENT. AFTER THE TEST A WRENCH WAS NEEDED TO SEPARATE THE COMPONENTS FOR INSPN. THE INSPN PROVIDED NO EVIDENCE OF DEBRIS OR DISTORTIOON OF THE THREADED PORTION OF THE CONNECTION. THERE WAS NO INTENT FOR FLIGHT IN THIS PARTICULAR OPERATION AND NO FLT CREW WAS PRESENT.
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
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 4,250 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C30P (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.