Powerplant To Be Shipped To Rolls-Royce For Analysis
The National Transportation Safety Board is sharing a few clues
into what may have caused the crash of a TV news helicopter in a
wooded area of a Houston suburb Monday morning.
The pilot, 43-year-old John Downhower, was an employee of
Helicopters, Incorporated, which provided the Bell 206L-4 (type
shown above) which TV viewers knew as "SkyEye 13 HD." The reporter
and photographer along as his passenger, 36-year-old Dave Garrett,
was an employee of Metro Networks, a national chain which provides
pooled news and traffic coverage to TV stations in many cities.
As ANN reported, the two were on their way to
cover a shooting incident for a local ABC affiliate when the
chopper went down. That station, KTRK-13, reports there was a gap
of about two minutes from the loss of the uplink signal from the
aircraft, and the 911 call that summoned responders to the
crash.
As the wreckage was removed from the scene Tuesday for further
testing, NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator Arnold Scott told the
station, "We've examined the helicopter, and we're satisfied that
the helicopter was intact at impact when it started hitting the
trees."
Investigators added they also found what on first glance
appeared to be possible issues within the helicopter's engine,
although they stressed nothing concrete has been determined as of
yet.
"We've examined the servos and the pitch and collective
linkages. They are all attached, so we don't, at this point, see a
flight control problem," Scott said. "We're having the engine
manufacturer, Rolls Royce, ship down a shipping container, and
we'll ship the engine back to Indianapolis, where it will be
disassembled and examined."
The tragedy has touched a nerve among local reporters, law
enforcement personnel, and others. Visitors have brought flowers
and words of condolence to both the crash site and the KTRK
studios.
Further investigation of the wreckage will be conducted at a
salvage yard in Fort Worth.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 6ZV
Make/Model: B206 Description: BELL
206B HELICOPTER
Date: 10/13/2008 Time: 1615
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
Fatal Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: HOUSTON State: TX Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
N6ZV, A BELL 206 ROTORCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN
CIRCUMSTANCES, THE TWO
PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED, NEAR HOUSTON, TX
INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 2
# Crew: 2 Fat:
2 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: KIAH 131648Z SPECI 13007KT 10SM SCT026 27/22 A3012
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase:
Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: HOUSTON, TX
(SW09)
Entry date: 10/14/2008
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