Bell 206B N8AU accident near Livingston, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot exceeding the yaw control capability of the helicopter for the flight conditions, resulting in a non-mechanical loss of tail rotor effectiveness.

NTSB analysis

Passengers reported that the helicopter flight was a sightseeing flight won at a local charity auction. The flight began normally with the intention to fly over the front-seat passenger’s childhood home but diverted to the passenger’s current home due to low clouds along the original route. The rear-seat passengers stated that the helicopter flew down the road where the residence was located and then around the house making a level right turn at low speed. The helicopter then flew over a pond on the property and toward the house. As the helicopter approached the house it was facing a southerly direction and came to a hover above the trees where the accident occurred. The passengers stated that the helicopter was either motionless in the hover or slightly drifting. The helicopter then began to rotate to the right, completing 2 revolutions while descending. The helicopter rotors struck trees and then fell onto a pile of wood that had been stacked due to land clearing activities.

Postaccident examination of the helicopter did not reveal any preimpact anomalies and a passenger reported that the helicopter’s engine was still running after the accident.

Video evidence showed that just before the accident the helicopter was operating with about 89% torque and in a hover about 150 ft above the ground, and no engine anomalies were recorded. Aviation weather reports indicated that the helicopter may have been facing into a slight wind of about 3 knots (kts); however, the lack of nearby official weather reporting stations, and the variability of unofficial weather reporting stations, made the wind determination inconclusive.

Loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE) can be affected by numerous factors that could not be conclusively eliminated. Based on the lack of evidence of a mechanical failure, passenger witness accounts, and video showing the helicopter’s instrument panel after the initiation of the rotation, the helicopter likely sustained an aerodynamic loss of tail rotor effectiveness that resulted in an exceedance of the yaw capability of the helicopter during a high-power hover maneuver at low altitude, from which the pilot was unable to recover.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN22FA086 for the full record.