Looking for Land in All the Wrong Places…

Remember back in July of 1988, a helicopter swooped down into the State Penitentiary in Santa Fe, NM? A pilot named Charles Bella was hired by an inmate’s girlfriend on the pretense of looking for real estate near Santa Fe. The woman pulled a gun on him and instructed him to land in the prison yard where three inmates boarded the craft. U. S. Custom’s helicopters forced the aircraft down near Albuquerque. Bella was later acquitted on charges that he helped with the escape attempt.

Two years after that incident, Bella crashed a helicopter in the Organ Mountains near Las, Cruces, NM, while on a surveying trip. Neither he nor his passenger was injured.

Just last month, Charles Bella’s name popped up again in a new making helicopter crash. This time the crash took place in southwest Texas near the town of Alpine. The Gazelle chopper was taking off and a gust of wind forced the helicopter into a cedar tree. The helicopter then flipped over on it right side in a two-foot deep stream. None of the passengers was seriously injured. The passengers were out looking at real estate.

One of the passengers was Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos.

NTSB Identification: FTW03LA105
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter operation of Bear Helicopters, Inc. (D.B.A. N/A)
Accident occurred Thursday, March 06, 2003 in Alpine, TX
Aircraft: Aerospatiale SA341G, registration: N16KH
Injuries: 4 Minor.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On March 6, 2003, at 1115 central standard time, an Aerospatiale SA341G, N16KH, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain during takeoff from a hilltop near Alpine, Texas. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Bear Helicopters, Inc., of El Paso, Texas. The pilot, who held an airline transport pilot certificate, and his three passengers sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 nonscheduled, air taxi flight. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and was destined for Marfa, Texas.

According to initial reports, the helicopter initially departed from Marfa and flew to the hilltop near Alpine, where the helicopter landed, as a property survey flight. While attempting to takeoff for the return flight to Marfa the helicopter encountered a gust of wind and, subsequently, the helicopter-impacted terrain. The helicopter came to rest in a shallow creek.

Photographs of the accident site revealed that the tail boom was separated.