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Papillon Airways Bell 206L1 accident

7 Aug 1993 · Tusayan, AZ, United States

Bell 206L1 and Bell 206L3 · Accident: in flight collision with object while taxiing

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Event

NTSB case
LAX93FA316
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
0 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
Charter & commuter
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Aircraft 1 · Bell 206L1

Aircraft type
Bell 206
Category
Helicopter
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N444CR
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From not recordedTo not recorded
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Taxi · aerial
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
In flight collision with object
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Destroyed

Aircraft 2 · Bell 206L3

Aircraft type
Bell 206
Category
Helicopter
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N38903
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From not recordedTo not recorded
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Standing · engine(s) operating
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
On ground/water collision with object
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Destroyed

Cause areas

  • Airport facilities, heliport › Inadequate
  • Company/operator management › Airport, inadequate
  • Object › Aircraft moving on ground
  • Pilot in command › Clearance, not maintained
  • Pilot of other aircraft › Clearance, not maintained

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

THE PILOT OF N444CR HAD RETURNED TO THE COMPANY HELIPORT AFTER A TOUR FLIGHT, AND WAS CLEARED BY THE COMPANY CONTROL TOWER TO HOVER TAXI PAST A COMPANY HELICOPTER, N38903. N38903 HAD BEEN ADVISED TO HOLD FOR INBOUND N444CR, AND WAS LOADED WITH ROTORS AT MAXIMUM RPM AND FLAT PITCH. THE PILOT OF N444CR STATED THAT WHEN HE WAS ABEAM OF N38903, A GUST OF WIND CAUGHT HIM AND HE MESHED ROTORS WITH THE STANDING N38903. NO UNUSUAL WEATHER PHENOMENA WAS REPORTED BY EITHER THE CLOSEST OFFICIAL WEATHER STATION OR OTHER TOUR PILOTS AT THE HELIPORT. THE HELIPORT WAS OPERATING 5 HELIPADS, EACH WITH LESS THAN THE FAA RECOMMENDED MINIMUM SAFE DIMENSIONS BETWEEN NEIGHBORING PADS. THE TAXI ROUTE THAT N444CR HAD TO TAKE WAS BETWEEN A CHAIN LINK FENCE AND THE PAD WHERE N38903 WAS HOLDING. MEASUREMENTS SHOWED THAT N444CR HAD A 7-FT CLEARANCE BETWEEN ITS MAIN ROTOR AND BOTH THE FENCE AND N38903.

Probable cause

FAILURE OF THE PILOT OF N444CR TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE MAIN ROTOR CLEARANCE FROM N38903, AND THE OPERATOR'S FAILURE TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE OR RECOMMENDED SAFE HELIPAD DIMENSIONS. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE LACK OF VISUAL REFERENCE TO THE ROTATING BLADES OF THE PARKED HELICOPTER, N38903.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record LAX93FA316
Event ID
20001211X13164
Case number
LAX93FA316
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: local date, investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date; the NTSB stores the UTC date 1993-08-08.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: 6c63d8be0472e98eb009b36d1e309a49783fdacc968320d7aefed4e223f8838e; retrieved 2026-09-18T18:31:52.402Z.