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| Date: | Saturday 16 July 2022 |
| Time: | 19:20 |
| Type: |  Bell UH-1H Iroquois |
| Owner/operator: | Bernalillo Co Sheriff's Department |
| Registration: | N911SZ |
| MSN: | 12736 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1970 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 7590 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Chapelle, NM -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Fire fighting |
| Departure airport: | Las Vegas Airport, NM (LVS/KLVS) |
| Albuquerque-Double Eagle II Airport, NM (KAEG) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On July 16, 2022, about 1920 mountain daylight time, a Bell UH-1H, N911SZ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Chapelle, New Mexico. The pilot, two tactical flight observers, and the rescue specialist sustained fatal injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 41 United States Code public aircraft flight.
The pilot of the helicopter, two tactical flight observers, and a rescue specialist were returning to their home airport after conducting firefighting operations. While in a west-bound cruise flight about 500 to 600 ft about ground level (agl), the helicopter entered a descent that rapidly increased to over 5,000 ft per minute, and impacted terrain in a tail-low attitude. The helicopter was destroyed during the impact with terrain.
Examination of the engine revealed that the starter-generator input (zerol) gear failed due to fatigue. This failure led to the starter-generator driveshaft shearing, N1 accessory gearbox seizure, and a total loss of engine power. An examination of the remaining helicopter systems revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operations.
About 17 flight hours before the accident, an engine chip event occurred, and a small piece of ferrous metal was found on the magnetic chip plug. Following the chip event the oil system was drained and flushed and the filter elements were removed, cleaned, and reinstalled. No further engine chip lights were reported after the engine chip event.
The chip and oil sample were shipped to a lab for analysis. The results of the lab analysis were not used by the operator to troubleshoot the reason for the chip event. Had the operator conducted an analysis, they could have potentially identified the deteriorating component and impending failure.
The helicopter’s low altitude (500 to 600 ft agl) during the return leg made the transition from powered flight to autorotation after an unexpected loss of engine power more time critical. The high density altitude conditions, combined with flight directly into the setting sun, may have contributed to the unsuccessful autorotation following the total loss of engine power.
Probable Cause: The total loss of engine power due to the fatigue failure of the starter-generator input (zerol) gear which failed due to poor maintenance. Contributing to the accident was the unsuccessful autorotation complicated by the setting sun and high density altitude.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/sheriffs-helicopter-crashes-mexico-onboard/story?id=86957811
https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/four-killed-in-bernalillo-county-sheriffs-helicopter-crash
https://fireaviation.com/2022/07/17/helicopter-crash-kills-four-while-working-a-wildfire-in-new-mexico/
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105488
https://www.helis.com/database/cn/37514/
Location
Media:
NTSB investigating the 7/16/2022 crash of a Bell UH-1H helicopter near Chapelle, New Mexico.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) July 17, 2022
3 BCSO employees and a BCFD employee diedFour killed in Bernalillo County Sheriff's helicopter crash https://t.co/1eUY0WWFw5
— KRQE News 13 (@krqe) July 17, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jul-2022 07:53 | gerard57 | Added |
| 17-Jul-2022 07:58 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 17-Jul-2022 07:59 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 17-Jul-2022 08:01 | Aerossurance | Updated [Nature, Destination airport, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 17-Jul-2022 08:03 | Aerossurance | Updated [Registration, Cn, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Jul-2022 20:39 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 05-Aug-2022 21:22 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Category] |
| 05-Aug-2022 21:23 | Captain Adam | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport] |
| 30-May-2023 00:32 | Ron Averes | Updated |
| 13-Jun-2024 14:35 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative, Accident report] |
| 13-Jun-2024 14:36 | Captain Adam | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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