N911GE

On May 2, 2017, about 1815 eastern daylight time, a Bell 206B helicopter, N911GE, sustained substantial damage during firefighting operations near Orange Springs, Florida. The helicopter was registered to and operated by the Marion County Sheriff's Office as a public-use aircraft. The commercial pilot sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed Ocala International Airport, Ocala, Florida, about 1500.According to the Aviation Unit Commander and the pilot, the pilot was utilizing a firefighting bucket (Bambi Bucket®) and had completed between 25 and 30 drops on the fire zone. He landed at a nearby landing zone, refueled, and completed 3 or 4 additional drops when the accident occurred. After lowering the bucket into the water and filling it, he pulled the bucket from the water and immediately felt "a severely out of CG condition to the right." He assumed that the bucket cables were entangled in the right landing skid, so he released the water from the bucket. The condition persisted, so he rocked the helicopter to attempt to free the cable; however, this was not successful. He then released the cable with the cargo release button. He heard the "clunk" sound that was typical with releasing the bucket, then he heard another "clunk." The helicopter then began to spin violently and crashed into the water. The pilot freed himself from the cockpit, inflated his personal flotation device, and swam to shore. He utilized his cell phone to call for assistance and was rescued by first responders.

The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the helicopter.

An examination of the wreckage revealed cable marks on the right rear landing skid tube for about 6 inches in length. There was also a torsional fracture of the tail rotor short shaft.