N2758C

On July 23, 2004, at approximately 1430 mountain Daylight time, a Bell 206 L-1 helicopter, N2758C, sustained substantial damage when the main rotor system struck a refueling truck while standing on the ramp at Escalante Municipal Airport, Escalante, Utah. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The positioning flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The airline transport certificated pilot sustained minor injuries. Two persons on the ground in the vicinity of the refueling truck were not injured. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.

The pilot reported he had landed next to the refueling truck to conduct a "hot refueling." At the end of the refueling, the pilot left the helicopter to assist the ground refueler with the hose. The pilot said he heard an abnormal noise. "The rotor disc had been displaced to the right. The helicopter began to vibrate. I moved towards the helicopter to neutralize the flight controls. The aircraft bounced and knocked me down as I grabbed the controls. I got up and shut the aircraft down." The pilot reported that a gust of wind came up causing the helicopter rotor blade to dip down and strike the truck.

A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that the helicopter had touched down such that the main rotor blades came within 14 inches of the truck. An examination of the helicopter showed bending and crush damage to the main rotor blades. The tail boom was bent downward, just forward of the horizontal stabilizers. Control continuity was confirmed. An examination of the helicopter systems showed no anomalies.

The refueling truck sustained a slash through the top left side of the cab, just over the driver's door. The front window post on the driver's side door was severed at the middle. The top portion of the window frame post was bent inward. The upper left-hand corner of the front windshield was shattered. The mesh cage just behind the driver's side and covering the refueling equipment was severed and bent outward.

At 1453, the Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) for Bryce Canyon, Utah (BCE), 075 degrees at 28 nautical miles from the accident scene, reported winds as 210 degrees at 19 knots with gusts to 27 knots. The BCE METAR report also indicated a peak wind of 180 degrees at 30 knots occurred at 1356.