DFW06FA083 · Bell 206L-1
Bell 206L-1 · Accident: loss of engine power en route
From Harry P Williams Memorial Airport (PTN) to Ship Shoal 216, GM
Event
- NTSB case
- DFW06FA083
- 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
- 2 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- 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
Bell 206L-1
- 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
- N370RL
- Operator
- Unknown
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Harry P Williams Memorial Airport (PTN), Patterson, LATo Ship Shoal 216, GM
- 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
- En route · cruise
- 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
- Loss of engine power
- 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
- Fuel system, line fitting › Loose
- Other maintenance personnel › Maintenance, installation, improper
Approximate · Coordinates from the NTSB case API, which marks them as estimated or does not say; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
Approximately 5 minutes after departing on a Title 14, CFR Part 135 air taxi cross-country flight, the helicopter had a loss of engine power while in cruise flight. The commercial helicopter pilot subsequently made a hard forced landing at an off-airport site comprised of tall vegetation and soft terrain. The helicopter came to rest in an upright position, and the two rear seat passengers were able to egress unassisted. Moments later, the helicopter was engulfed in flames. The wreckage path was oriented on a magnetic heading of 225 degrees, and the wind was reported as from 020 degrees at 12 knots. An examination of the engine at the accident site revealed that the fuel line to fuel nozzle "B" nut could be turned by hand, and did not contain a lock wire as required. All other fittings and nuts on the engine were found to be secure. A review of the helicopter's maintenance records revealed that a 50-hour fuel nozzle inspection was performed the evening prior to the accident flight. This inspection required the removal, disassembly, cleaning, inspection, reassembly, and reinstallation of the fuel nozzle. An interview with maintenance personnel revealed that fuel nozzle installation procedures found in the engine manufacturer's maintenance manual had not been followed. A tear down examination of the engine was performed. The engine examination revealed no preimpact anomalies. Investigators conducted operational tests on an engine of the same make and model. The tests were performed in an effort to determine what effect a loose fuel nozzle "B" nut would have on the engine's operation. The test revealed that the engine would experience a substantial loss of power that could conclude in a flame out. Testing further revealed that conditions would have been conducive for an in-flight fire. Investigators could not determine if the fire originated in-flight, or during the ground impact.
Probable cause
The improper installation of an engine fuel line fitting by other maintenance personnel, which resulted in a loose fitting and a loss of engine power during cruise flight. Factors associated with the accident are a tailwind, and the lack of a suitable site for a forced landing.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record DFW06FA083
- Event ID
- 20060320X00323
- Case number
- DFW06FA083
- 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: investigation status, coordinates. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
- API snapshot SHA-256: 0c4c55d0848fa0fe65786c2723c29e27843f66e4a49a82f80d8eb2b56ef39a32; retrieved 2026-09-18T12:57:19.783Z.