Bell 47G-4A N1400W

Summary

On 25 September 1983 at about 20:00 local time, a Bell 47G-4A registered N1400W was involved in an accident near Wise, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

25 September 1983 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Wise, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Lonesome Pine (LNP)

Coordinates

36.9704, -82.5797

Aircraft

Bell 47G-4A

Registration

N1400W

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

ATL83LA379

1 person had minor injuries.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PLT HELD A COMMERCIAL CERTIFICATE, BUT WAS A STUDENT IN HELICOPTER FLYING. HE HAD OVER 15,000 HRS TOTAL TIME IN AIRPLANES, BUT ONLY APRX 13 HRS OF EXPERIENCE IN HELICOPTERS. ON HIS 1ST SOLO FLT IN A HELICOPTER, HE WAS MAKING APPROACHES TO A GRASSY AREA BESIDE A RWY. ON 1 APCH, HE TRANSITIONED FROM A 60 KT APPROACH TO A HOVER. THE APPROACH WAS MADE ON A HEADING OF 240 DEG IN VARIABLE WIND CONDITIONS THAT PREVAILED FROM 205 DEG AT 5 KTS. REPORTEDLY, THE PLT FLARED & STOPPED HIS FORWARD MOVEMENT AT ABOUT 4 FT AGL; HOWEVER, THE NOSE CONTINUED UP & STARTED YAWING TO THE RIGHT, THEN THE HELICOPTER TURNED APRX 270 DEG TO THE RIGHT & THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES STRUCK THE GROUND. THE PLT RECALLED SEEING AN INDICATION OF 2800 ENG RPM BEFORE HE LOST CONTROL. A CERTIFIED FLT INSTRUCTOR STATED THAT 2800 RPM WAS MARGINAL FOR MAINTAINING DIRECTIONAL CONTROL.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.