What happened
On February 10, 2013, at approximately 0330 PST, a Bell 206B JetRanger, registration N59518, collided with terrain near Acton, California. The aircraft was being operated by Orbic Air, LLC for the purpose of filming a reality television show at a movie ranch. The flight was intended to capture a sequence where an actor would drop a backpack from a hovering helicopter.
The flight occurred during the hours of darkness under visual meteorological conditions with 10 miles of visibility. The helicopter was flying with the left-side doors removed for filming. The crew included the pilot, an actor, and a camera operator.
During the flight, a flexible LED light pad was used in the cockpit to illuminate the actor's face for a GoPro camera. The pilot had previously expressed concerns during an earlier flight that such lights blinded him and made it difficult to see the ground. During the accident flight, the pilot requested that the light be turned off. While the actor was attempting to adjust the light settings, the helicopter descended into the terrain. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and the pilot and two passengers sustained 3 fatal injuries.
The investigation
Investigators recovered audio and video recordings from a GoPro camera, a Canon EOS 300PL video camera, and a Sounds Devices 702T audio recorder. These recordings provided a transcript of the cockpit environment and the sequence of events leading to the impact.
Mechanical examination of the N59518 wreckage revealed that the engine, transmission, and flight controls were functioning normally prior to impact. While several components, including the main rotor mast and various control tubes, showed fractures, these were consistent with the forces of the impact. No pre-impact mechanical anomalies were found that would have prevented the normal operation of the aircraft.