Bell 47G N8420E
5 June 2009 · San Marcos, Texas, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 5 June 2009 at about 18:15 local time, a Bell 47G registered N8420E, operated by Continental Helicopter Services Inc, was involved in an accident near San Marcos, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 18:15
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- San Marcos, Texas, United States
- Nearest airport
- San Marcos Municipal Airport (KHYI)
- Coordinates
- 29.9336, -97.8686
- Aircraft
- Bell 47G
- Registration
- N8420E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Continental Helicopter Services Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 137: Agricultural
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial Application
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- San Marcos → San Marcos
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN09CA339
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from power lines.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The commercial pilot said that he was landing the agricultural helicopter at the edge of a large field to pick up communications radios from his ground crew. During his landing approach under power lines, he saw a vehicle approaching that he had not seen before. The pilot said that he then raised the helicopter to allow the vehicle to pass underneath. The tail rotor blades then struck a wire at about 20 feet above the ground and the helicopter began to spin. The pilot said that he lost control and the helicopter struck the surface of the field and rolled on its side. There was no postcrash fire, but the helicopter was substantially damaged. The pilot was seriously injured.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Bell 47 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jul 2009 | Bell 47G-3B-2 | Ocean Shores, Washington, United States | Farm & Forest Helicopter Service Inc | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Aug 2009 | Bell 47G-2A | Covert, Michigan, United States | Paul Ekoniak | No injuries | - |
| 30 May 2009 | Bell 47G | Kyle, Texas, United States | Michael E. Mollere Lamm Ranch | Serious injuries | - |
| 8 Jul 2009 | Bell 47G-2 | Turlock, California, United States | Titus J. Headings | No injuries | - |
| 13 Jun 2010 | Bell 47G | Plymouth, Michigan, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 2008 | Bell 47J-2A | Florence, Arizona, United States | Loflite LLC | No injuries | - |
All 1,633 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Apr 2009 | American Legend AL-3C | McKinney, Texas, United States | McRight-Smith Aviation, LP | No injuries | - |
| 2 Oct 2009 | Beechcraft A36 | Refugio, Texas, United States | Aero Mark JM LLC | Minor injuries | - |
| 3 Oct 2009 | Beechcraft E18S | Jones Creek, Texas, United States | Brazoria County | No injuries | - |
| 25 Feb 2009 | Robinson R22 BETA | O'Donnell, Texas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 8 Jun 2009 | Meyers OTW | Haskell, Texas, United States | Ashbach Richard P | No injuries | - |
| 11 Dec 2009 | Piper PA-30 | Port Mansfield, Texas, United States | Harvey W. Kiniken, Jr | Fatal | 2 |