Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance between his external load and trees while maneuvering. Contributing to the accident were hilly terrain and trees.
NTSB analysis
Soon after the helicopter lifted an external load of tree branches and began to fly an uphill route to the central collection point, the long-line became tangled in the trees below the flightpath. As the pilot attempted to continue up the hill toward a landing site, the helicopter's low-rotor rpm horn sounded, and soon thereafter its nose pitched down, and it impacted the ground near the bottom of a steep ravine. Although the long-line was not attached to the helicopter when it crashed, its proximity to the accident site indicated that it was released shortly before the impact. Neither the on-site or the follow-up inspection of the helicopter revealed any evidence of an anomaly in the airframe, engine, or flight control system.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR09LA010 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Oct 10, 2008
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Cougar, Washington
- Highest injury
- Serious
- Serious injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Bell 206B
- N-number
- N206CH
- Category
- Helicopter
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 133 (external load)
- Purpose of flight
- External load
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.