Aviation Crash Map

Bell 47G-2 N2874B

21 September 1985 · Watsonville, California, United States · No injuries

Summary

On 21 September 1985 at about 18:00 local time, a Bell 47G-2 registered N2874B, operated by Helicair AG, Inc., was involved in an accident near Watsonville, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

The record

Date
at 18:00
Classification
Accident
Location
Watsonville, California, United States
Coordinates
36.9500, -121.7191
Aircraft
Bell 47G-2
Registration
N2874B
Category
Helicopter
Engines
1
Operator
Helicair AG, Inc.
Operating rule
Part 137: Agricultural
Purpose of flight
Aerial Application
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Watsonville → Watsonville
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
LAX85LA400

People

Nobody was injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 0 1

Probable cause

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

DURING AN AG FLT, AT ABT 5 FT AGL, THE PLT HEARD A LOUD BANG, THE ENG OVERSPED, & ALL PWR TO THE ROTOR BLADES WAS LOST. THE PLT ATTEMPTED TO IMMEDIATELY LAND IN THE UNDERLYING FIELD, BUT HAD INSUFFICIENT ALTITUDE/AIRSPEED TO AUTOROTATE. THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN, BOUNCED, & THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES FLEXED DOWN & SEVERED THE TAIL BOOM. EXAM OF THE CLUTCH REVEALED THAT POOR CONTACT WAS BEING MADE BETWEEN THE SHOES & DRUM. EXAM OF THE FREE WHEELING UNIT REVEALED IT CONTAINED NUMEROUS ROLLERS WHICH WOULD NOT LOCK. IT IS UNKNOWN WHICH COMPONENTS'S FAILURE WAS PRIMARY.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Bell 47 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
27 Oct 1985 Bell 47G-5
N7840S
Plainfield, Wisconsin, United States - Fatal 1
10 Apr 1985 Bell 47G-2
N54522
Panama City Bch, Florida, United States - Serious injuries -
22 Oct 1985 Bell 47 G-5
N7907S
Yuma, Arizona, United States - Minor injuries -
17 Aug 1985 Bell 47G-2A
N3951U
Sedalia, Missouri, United States - Serious injuries -
16 Mar 1985 Bell 47G
N73DB
Erin, Tennessee, United States - Minor injuries -
19 Jul 1985 Bell 47G-3B-1
N9417A
Lebanon, Oregon, United States - No injuries -

All 1,633 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
16 Mar 1985 Mooney M20C
N1359W
Apple Valley, California, United States - Serious injuries -
22 Mar 1985 Cessna 152
N67001
Shafter, California, United States Air Center International, Inc. Minor injuries -
23 Mar 1985 Cessna 150
N6653G
Banning, California, United States - Minor injuries -
15 Oct 1985 Rotorway EXECUTIVE
N2071Z
El Monte, California, United States Frank Louis Lillo No injuries -
29 Mar 1985 Piper PA-30
N802Y
Death Valley, California, United States Underwood Assoc. Inc. No injuries -
2 Apr 1985 Cessna 414
XBDED
Eagle Mountain, California, United States - Unknown -

All 170,864 records in United States