Flight History
On December 30, 2021, about 1141 central standard time, a Bell 206B helicopter, registration N8AU, was substantially damaged in an accident near Livingston, Texas. The pilot and one passenger sustained fatal injuries, while two passengers received minor injuries. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight.
Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) data showed the helicopter departed Livingston Municipal Airport (00R) at approximately 1107. It headed east-northeast for about 25 nautical miles, reversed course to west-southwest, then turned south. The last data point at 1138 was 1.8 nautical miles northeast of the accident site.
Video recorded on the front-left passenger’s cellular phone showed the helicopter flying along a road at about 40 knots and 150 feet above ground level. It slowed and made a right turn around a house, completing about 270 degrees of turn before entering a hover. The audio captured no unusual noises.
According to surviving passengers, the flight was a sightseeing trip won at a local charity auction. The passengers met the pilot at 00R. The original plan was to fly over the deceased passenger’s childhood home near Woodville, Texas, but low clouds forced a diversion to the passenger’s current residence near Livingston. The helicopter flew down the road, made a level right turn around the house at low speed, flew over a pond, and approached the house facing south. It came to a hover above trees, where the accident occurred. The passengers reported the helicopter was either motionless or slightly drifting.
Once in the hover, the helicopter began rotating to the right. One passenger initially thought the rotation was intentional but soon realized it was not. The helicopter completed about two full revolutions before the rotor blades struck a tree, causing the helicopter to descend and come to rest on its left side atop a wood pile. After the accident, a passenger noted the engine was still running and switched various controls to the off position until the engine stopped.
Pilot Information
The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with multi-engine land airplane and rotorcraft-helicopter ratings, as well as private pilot privileges for single-engine land airplanes. As of his most recent medical examination on July 15, 2016, he reported 1,679 total flight hours, with 72 hours in the previous six months. He received a second-class medical certificate without limitations, which expired in 2018. He subsequently applied for BasicMed, completing the course on June 7, 2020, and submitting the required Comprehensive Medical Examination Checklist on June 13, 2018. According to flight records, the pilot had approximately 200.9 hours of helicopter flight experience, including about 71.7 hours in the accident make and model.
Aircraft Information
The helicopter maintenance records were not available during the investigation. However, the maintenance facility that performed the most recent inspections provided copies. The records indicated that the helicopter received 12-month and 24-month inspections per the manufacturer’s maintenance manual on May 20, 2021.
Meteorological Information
Unofficial weather stations within 5 to 12 miles of the accident site recorded winds from 357° to 196° with magnitudes between 1 and 4 knots. The quality of these data could not be determined.
Wreckage and Impact
The helicopter impacted terrain and rolled onto its left side, coming to rest on a pile of logs. The forward fuselage, left side fuselage, and tail boom sustained substantial damage. The main and tail rotors separated. The elevation at the accident site was about 250 feet above mean sea level. A postaccident examination revealed no preimpact failures or malfunctions of the airframe, rotor systems, engine, or flight controls that would have precluded normal operations.
Injuries
The passenger seated in the front left seat was fatally injured. The pilot, seated in the front right seat, initially survived and was transported to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries 13 days after the accident. The death certificate listed complications following multiple blunt force injuries as the cause of death. The two rear-seat passengers sustained minor injuries.
Recordings
The helicopter was not equipped with onboard flight or data recording equipment. However, the front-seat passenger recorded three videos on his personal cellular phone, with durations of 11, 21, and 46 seconds. The first video showed the interior and rear passengers; no abnormal sounds were heard. The second video showed takeoff and climb, with no abnormal engine noises. The third video captured an outward forward-facing view and the instrument panel. At various points, airspeed was 40-45 knots, altitude 400 feet, heading 230°, torque 60-89%, and rotor rpm 90-100%. The helicopter entered a hover at about 46 seconds, and the recording ended seconds before the accident. No abnormal engine noises were heard on any recording.
Additional Information
The Federal Aviation Administration’s Helicopter Flying Handbook describes loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE) as a condition where altered airflow through the tail rotor can reduce thrust. The handbook lists factors such as main rotor downwash, blade vortices, turbulence, high power settings, slow forward airspeed, and specific wind directions. No causal determination was made in this investigation regarding LTE.