Bell 47G-3B2 N7942J

Summary

On 10 September 1995 at about 16:20 local time, a Bell 47G-3B2 registered N7942J was involved in an accident near Yuma, Arizona, United States. One person was 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

10 September 1995 at 16:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Yuma, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

32.6791, -114.6591

Aircraft

Bell 47G-3B2

Registration

N7942J

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX95LA331

Nobody was injured.

the failure of the pilot and company maintenance personnel to detect a crack in the clevis ears during the required daily inspection and the recent annual inspection. A factor in the accident was the improper welding and stress relief procedure used to assemble the components, which induced high residual stresses in the clevis ears and led to fatigue cracking of the part.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said he was en route to spray a field at 150 feet agl when he heard a loud bang, and a fluttering vibration began through the airframe. The helicopter did not respond to anti-torque control inputs and began to spin. The pilot lowered the collective and reduced throttle to control the spin and the helicopter landed hard. The aft left engine mount frame was found separated from the fuselage frame attachment clevis ears. The clevis ears were found fractured. The engine was displaced forward and to the right and was impinging on the collective servo. The tail rotor short shaft was pulled out and disconnected. The components were sent for metallurgical examination. The clevis ear fractures revealed features indicative of fatigue cracking emanating from multiple origins on the forward and aft faces. The fractures exhibited severe oxidation damage with rust colored deposits evident externally. The metal in the frame and clevis ears was correct for the material specification in the manufacturing drawings. During assembly a washer is welded circumferentially around the outside diameter to the inboard side of each clevis ear. Microhardness testing of the welds, heat affected zones (HAZ), and the base metal of the clevis ears and corresponding washers revealed that the tensile strength of the HAZ adjacent to the fracture of the forward clevis ear was significantly higher than the strength of the weld and the base metal. An annual inspection was accomplished on the helicopter 77 hours prior to the accident and the area of the cracks are the subject of a daily inspection requirement.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.