Silver Fire Helicopter Crash Fatality 1990

Robert Wiebe, pilot of a Bell 204B helicopter, was killed when his aircraft lost power and crashed in steep burned-over forest on the Silver Fire, Colville Indian Reservation, Washington. Wiebe was performing bucket drops on the fire, and had had the water bucket's cinch strap (which controls the volume of water allowed into the bucket) replaced earlier in the day. During a drop at around 1746 hrs, the pilot remarked over the radio that he was "heavy." Witnesses observed a puff of smoke come from the helicopter, which then lost altitude and crashed into terrain. Investigation of the wreckage revealed the failure of three turbine blades in the helicopter's engine. The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the accident to excessive aircraft weight and failure or inability to jettison the load of water, possibly due to non-standard water bucket parts.