Bell 407 N41BH
5 March 2015 · Justin, Texas, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 5 March 2015 at about 21:30 local time, a Bell 407 registered N41BH, operated by Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., was involved in an accident near Justin, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 21:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Justin, Texas, United States
- Nearest airport
- Fort Worth Alliance Airport (KAFW)
- Coordinates
- 33.0494, -97.2928
- Aircraft
- Bell 407
- Registration
- N41BH
- Category
- Helicopter
- Year built
- 1997
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Fort Worth → Fort Worth
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- GAA15CA002
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
Abnormal ground contact during an autorotation demonstration, resulting in a severed tailrotor driveshaft.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The helicopter instructor was demonstrating a full down 180 degree auto rotation. He reported that everything was done normally and as he flared to slow the aircraft down, the tail skid lightly bumped the ground a couple of times. The skids eventually made contact with the ground and the helicopter slid about 20 feet to a stop. A post landing examination of the helicopter revealed that the main rotor blade had contacted the tailboom, severing the tailrotor drive shaft.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Bell 407 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Nov 2015 | Bell 407 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | Air Evac EMS, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 30 Oct 2015 | Bell 407 | Cameron, Louisiana, United States | PHI Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 24 Sep 2015 | Bell 407 | San Agustine Guatemala, Guatemala | - | No injuries | - |
| 22 Jul 2015 | Bell 407-NO SERIES | Tifalmin Village Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 2 May 2015 | Bell 407 | Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea | - | Unknown | - |
| 21 Nov 2015 | Bell 407 | Justo Romero, Nicaragua | Agricola Tornabe, S.A. de CV | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Sep 2015 | Cessna TR182 | Midland, Texas, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 31 Jan 2015 | Butler Raymond ROTORWAY EXEC 162F | Seadrift, Texas, United States | Butler William Raymond | No injuries | - |
| 23 Jul 2015 | Aero Commander 100 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 9 Jun 2015 | Hunziker EROS 1650R | Quitman, Texas, United States | Ben J. Hunziker | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 Jan 2015 | Maule MX 7-180 | Georgetown, Texas, United States | Donald Pfiester | No injuries | - |
| 5 Feb 2015 | Piper PA46 500TP | Lubbock, Texas, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |