Bell 212 accident near Juntura, Oregon, August 8, 1998
On August 8, 1998 at about 9:05 pm local time, a Bell 212 (helicopter), registered N291B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Juntura, Oregon. It was a public-use flight under public-use (government) rules. No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain proper clearance between the long line cable and hell hole structure resulting in airframe contact and binding of the cable. This resulted in separation/disabling of the fuel control solenoid and a subsequent restriction/cessation of fuel flow to the #1 engine. Contributing factors were separation of the #1 engine push/pull rod and a tree.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 8, 1998 · about 9:05 pm local time
- Place
- Juntura, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 212 · all 212s on the register
- Registration
- N291B · registry record · serial 30842
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight · public-use (government) rules
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot-in-command (PIC) had just maneuvered the Bell 212 helicopter into a 100 foot hover above a small reservoir to fill a 'Bambi' bucket for fire-fighting operations. The rotorcraft began to settle. The PIC, perceiving that he had encountered rotor vortex conditions, slipped the helicopter to the right with the bucket still in the reservoir. This, in turn, increased the angle of the long line from the vertical or zero degree reference. Immediately thereafter, the PIC noted a loss of power in the #1 engine. He then executed a single-engine autorotation, during which a rotor blade impacted a dead tree. Post-crash examination revealed that the long line had pulled aft and left from its vertical reference into the airframe structure (the 7:30 position of the hell hole in the belly of the helicopter) resulting in 1) the separation of one of the #1 engine push/pull rods, and 2) the deformation of engine control rods associated with the #1 engine flight idle stop (solenoid) which then sheared. The shearing of the flight idle stop resulted in a restriction/cessation of fuel flow to the #1 engine fuel control unit, and subsequent engine shutdown.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 12,000 hours in all; 500 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,806 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 8, 1998; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,200 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6T-3 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BNO Burns OR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from BNO, 40 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.
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 SEA98GA159.