Bell 47-B3 N1575

Summary

On 13 January 2006 at about 17:45 local time, a Bell 47-B3 registered N1575 was involved in an accident near Dennison, Texas, United States. 2 people were 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

13 January 2006 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Dennison, Texas, United States

Coordinates

33.7139, -96.6742

Aircraft

Bell 47-B3

Registration

N1575

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ardmore → Ardmore

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW06CA055

Nobody was injured.

The in-flight separation of the stabilizer bar tube.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 4,900-hour commercial pilot was maneuvering the single engine helicopter during a photo mission at approximately 1,500 feet mean sea level (MSL) at about 45 knots when he reported hearing a loud bang and a nearly simultaneous erratic movement of the cyclic control. The pilot immediately started looking for a place to land the helicopter. The pilot increased the airspeed and headed for a suitable landing area. On final approach to a vacant football field, the helicopter began to spin as the airspeed began to decay. The pilot then elected to enter an autorotation and landed upright with no further damage. The pilot and his passenger were not injured. An FAA inspector that traveled to the accident site reported that one stabilizer tube from the mast control stabilizer bar assembly had separated from the main rotor system and made the tail rotor assembly after it separated from the helicopter. Approximately 3 inches of one tail rotor blade was found fractured and the 90 degree tail rotor gear box separated from the tail rotor drive shaft. At the time of the accident the winds were reported from 360 degrees at 22 knots, gusting to 29 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.