N213ML

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On October 4, 1998, at 1555 hours Pacific daylight time, a Bell 222 helicopter, N213ML, entered a descent and collided with the ground during takeoff at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada. The helicopter was destroyed. The commercial pilot was not injured, and his pilot rated passenger sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was owned and operated by Action Helicopter Service Center, under 14 CFR Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The personal flight originated from the owner's home at 1300 to attend the race being run at the Motor Speedway, and the helicopter was departing for the return to the residence.

The pilot reported to the Safety Board that he made a normal liftoff to a hover and checked the gauges, which appeared to be normal. He said he then began to takeoff and checked the MGT gauge (measured gas temperature for each engine's operating limits.) He stated that the left No. 1 gauge was "peaked." He pulled in collective to clear the parked cars in the parking lot to reach an open area. After clearing the cars, the helicopter bounced landed, bounced, rolled over, and came to rest on its left side.

There were numerous eyewitnesses to the crash. Witnesses indicated that the helicopter lifted off to the north, "barely missing the palm trees." Some witnesses indicated that the helicopter's attitude pitched forward and side to side, other's stated it was hovering erratically, appeared to lose power, and spun 180 degrees and tilted forward before the main rotor contacted the ground.

The Chief of Security at the track stated that the aircraft wasn't gaining altitude and that he didn't think the aircraft got above the top of the three-story administration building. He said the helicopter was heading northeast towards the handicapped parking lot. He stated he observed the back of the helicopter turn left and then right and its nose started going down like he was going to land in the handicapped lot.

Another eyewitness who was working at the track performing traffic and parking functions said the aircraft ascended about 20 feet before it was blown towards the street away from the administration building. He said the aircraft was moving sideways and it looked like the aircraft was going to land in the handicapped parking lot. He stated that "it appeared that the wind got him as he cleared the building." He said that the winds were from the south and he had observed the signs in the parking lot being blown over to the north.

Another eyewitness said that the aircraft got to the height of the administration building and then appeared to come forward before it began to move around like it was fighting the wind. By then she said the aircraft had drifted toward the road and she watched it "wiggle side to side."

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot was sitting in the right seat at the time of the accident. He reported that he had accrued about 5,875 total flight hours, of which 351 hours were in the Bell 222. He reported that he had flown 43 hours in the preceding 90 days, and 26 hours in the preceding 30 days. According to the aircraft logbook, N213ML had flown a total of 11.0 hours during calendar year 1998. The company also owns a sister ship, N212ML, which reportedly flew about the same amount of time. The mechanic on the aircraft reported that the two ships had a combined flight time of less than 25 hours a year. The pilot also has a Bell 206L-4, which he reportedly flew approximately 125 hours a year. The pilot-rated passenger in the left seat said that she was not current in the aircraft, and had assumed no flying duties other than helping the pilot perform the checklist items during normal operations.

Training records for the pilot, obtained from Bell Helicopter Textron in Ft. Worth, Texas, were reviewed. The pilot had completed a biennial flight review in accordance with 14 CFR Part 61.56 on June 6, 1998, in a Bell 206L-4 with the Director of the Bell Helicopter Customer Training Center. The flight time noted on the training sheet was 1.2 hours, with the remark "excellent pilot in all areas of flight." The pilot had flown with the same Bell pilot on November 11, 1997, for 2.0 hours. This flight was also conducted in the Bell 206L-4.

Bell flight records were reviewed for the preceding 2 years from the date of the accident. No record was found that the pilot had flown with any Bell helicopter pilot in any Bell 222 helicopter during this timeframe. Additionally, Flight Safety International, Ft. Worth, was contacted and they have no record of the pilot ever attending their Bell 222 ground school or simulator course.

The Director of the Bell Helicopter Customer Training Center was interviewed and he mentioned that he did fly with the pilot in the Bell 222, but that the flights were "not training flights." According to their training records, the pilot flew his initial aircraft checkout in a Bell 222 on October 29 and 30, 1993. During this checkout totaling 6.4 hours of flight time, the instructor pilot noted "all maneuvers were above average for time in all aircraft."

Safety Board investigators were unable to find any documented evidence that the pilot was proficient in any emergency maneuvers in the Bell 222. After the accident, the Director of the Bell Helicopter Customer Training Center said at the pilot's request, he conducted a short flight manual review followed by a 1.4-hour flight review in the Bell 222 aircraft, and provided a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding the pilot's skills. According to the letter, all maneuvers including preflight, starting procedures, normal and maximum performance takeoffs and one engine-out procedure were performed satisfactorily.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

Documents and records reviewed by the Safety Board disclosed that Action Helicopters acquired the aircraft on September 6, 1995. At that time, the aircraft had accrued a total time since new of 2,519 hours, with 575 hours since overhaul. The aircraft was powered by two Lycoming LTS101-650C3 engines, which were rated at 600 horsepower each. According to the records, engine number one (left) had a total time of 2,584.8 hours and entries documented compliance with all applicable Airworthiness Directives (AD's). The number 2 engine (right) had a total of 2,580 hours and entries showed compliance with all applicable AD's. There was no evidence of compliance with all recommended engine Service Bulletins (SB), including Service Bulletin LTS101-72-00-189, which would have allowed verification of the availability of the specified One Engine Inoperative (OEI) power. A complete summary of the AD and SB history is appended to this report, and is included in the Test and Teardown Report of Two Model LTS101-650C-3 Turboshaft Engines by Allied Signal Aerospace.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

Weather observations were taken at the adjacent Nellis Air Force Base (KLSV), at 1555. The METAR reported winds 150 degrees at 07 knots; overcast clouds at 11,000 feet; broken clouds at 25,000 feet; 40 statute miles visibility; temperature 75 degrees Fahrenheit; dew point 41 degrees Fahrenheit; and an altimeter setting of 29.92 inHg.

The owner of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway stated that the winds were usually gusty and variable depending on where you were located on the property. On October 6, he provided the Safety Board with a diagram of the winds as they were viewed on the track's various video cameras, which were located throughout the property. A diagram of the wind direction is appended to this report. The winds were observed to be generally coming from the south. The wind around the administration building resulted in quartering tailwinds for the departing helicopter.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

When the Safety Board investigator arrived at the racetrack on October 5, the helicopter wreckage had been removed from the parking lot and secured in a racetrack hanger facility for examination.

The site was documented by FAA inspectors from the Las Vegas, Nevada Flight Standards District Office, and the Safety Board investigator reviewed the site with the inspectors after arrival.

The accident site was a large flat asphalt parking lot on the grounds of the motor speedway surrounded by widely scattered palm trees, light poles, and speedway outbuildings, with heights ranging from 40 to 60 feet. The parking lot was partially filled with parked automobiles.

The helicopter had been lying on its left side with the nose oriented on a magnetic bearing about 030 degrees. A distance of 208 feet was measured from the witness-identified takeoff point to the wreckage location on a magnetic bearing of 030 degrees. The takeoff point was on the north west side of a three-story administration building with a measured height of 46 feet. The light poles near the front of the building were measured at 59 feet tall. An asphalt road bordered by 10-foot-tall palm trees separated the takeoff point and the wreckage point of rest. The only ground scars observed in the asphalt were within approximately 1.5 rotor disk diameters of the helicopter point of rest. Debris later identified as main rotor blade fragments were found scattered throughout the parking lot at distances about 100 feet from the wreckage.

The landing gear was found extended and undamaged. The tail boom was buckled just forward of the horizontal stabilizer. Both tail rotor blades remained attached to the hub grips; both blades exhibited tip-end leading edge damage, while one was bent toward the face side just outboard of the grip doubler. Stub sections about 15 feet in length of both main rotor blades remained attached to the hub grips. The leading edge tip ends of these sections were curled up and rearward. Both of the remaining main rotor blade stub sections exhibited l...