Bell 47D1 N13012

Summary

On 11 March 1998 at about 22:00 local time, a Bell 47D1 registered N13012 was involved in an accident near Jeanerette, Louisiana, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 March 1998 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Jeanerette, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

29.9109, -91.6707

Aircraft

Bell 47D1

Registration

N13012

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98LA144

1 person had minor injuries.

The in-flight disconnect of the rotating scissors due to the separation of its hinge bolt.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The dual student pilot was practicing landings in the local practice area, and had completed 4 to 5 landings. On the next landing, they were heading west, level at 350 feet agl, with an airspeed of 35 mph. As the student lowered the collective to initiate a steep approach, a severe vertical vibration was encountered. About 2 to 3 seconds later, a severe lateral vibration began. The flight instructor took the controls and continued the descent towards the landing area. At about 10 feet the instructor tried to reduce forward airspeed and descent rate by moving the cyclic aft and raising the collective. 'Neither of those inputs seemed to help a lot and we impacted hard.' The helicopter rolled over to the left before coming to rest heading to the east. There were no reported problems with tail rotor control. Examination of the helicopter by the FAA inspector revealed that the scissor hinge bolt which attaches the scissor to the swash plate was missing. He added that according to the maintenance records, the 5, 258 helicopter, underwent a 100 hour inspection on February 15, 1998, approximately 20 hours prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.