Bell 47G N70747

Summary

On 19 September 1997 at about 18:10 local time, a Bell 47G registered N70747 was involved in an accident near Saluda, South Carolina, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 September 1997 at 18:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Saluda, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

34.0004, -81.7695

Aircraft

Bell 47G

Registration

N70747

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA97FA248

2 people died.

in-flight collision with a tree, for undetermined reason(s).

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

On the day of the accident, the pilot/owner of a helicopter (hel) arrived at the airport with the hel on a flatbed trailer. A CFI was to fly with the owner & give him instruction to eventually obtain a hel rating. There were no witnesses to the pre-flight, takeoff, or flight. Some people at the airport, who knew the CFI, were aware that he was going to provide instruction to the owner. They also had knowledge that the owner had very little flight time in the hel, and that instruction would include basics of hel instruction, including hovering & autorotations. Two watches, found in the wreckage, were stopped at 1410. About 1520, the local fire department was notified of a fire located about 1 mile northeast of the airport. The hel was found in a heavily wooded area, consumed by fire. Also, there was a tree near the hel wreckage, which was found broken. No other broken trees were found in the area. All the parts of the hel were found within the impact area. The tachometer was found in the wreckage with the face destroyed by heat damage, rendering the numbers unreadable. However, the needles were still in place & were split with the smaller needle (rotor) about 45 degree split from the large needle (engine). Examination of the wreckage, including partial teardown of the engine & teardown of the transmission, did not reveal any discrepancies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.