Bell 47G N4759R

Summary

On 2 January 2003 at about 16:00 local time, a Bell 47G registered N4759R was involved in an accident near Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 January 2003 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

43.4500, -111.9333

Aircraft

Bell 47G

Registration

N4759R

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Idaho Falls → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA03LA023

Nobody was injured.

In-flight loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while in a cruise flight configuration, at 5,100 feet MSL and 80 MPH, the helicopter experienced a loss of engine power and the pilot initiated a forced landing to a nearby alfalfa field. During the landing, the main rotor blades made contact with the tail boom assembly, severing the top two tubes just aft of the last hangar bearing. Visual inspection of the helicopter's engine and associated components revealed no evidence of atypical wear or component failure. Following the visual inspection, the operator conducted an engine run. The engine was started and ran at various power settings for approximately 10 minutes. No power surges or anomalies were noted during test run.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.