Bell 47G-3B-1 N83701

Summary

On 16 July 2000 at about 14:00 local time, a Bell 47G-3B-1 registered N83701 was involved in an accident near Holstein, Nebraska, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 July 2000 at 14:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Holstein, Nebraska, United States

Coordinates

40.4591, -98.6494

Aircraft

Bell 47G-3B-1

Registration

N83701

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Campbell → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI00LA204

1 person had minor injuries.

the settling with power encountered by the pilot. A factor was the sudden windshift.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter impacted the terrain while maneuvering during aerial application flight. In a written statement, the pilot said, "On the third pass at the top of my turn the wind came up strongly from the E-NE and what airspeed I had at the top of the turn dissipated and became a tailwind of approx[imately] 15-20 knots. I was diving back into the field now with a tailwind, out of translational lift and ended up with what I consider to be settling with power. At my current altitude of approx[imately] 50-60 feet I did not have sufficient room to reenter translational lift and contacted the ground." A postaccident examination of the aircraft failed to reveal any anomalies that could be associated with a preexisting condition. A weather reporting station located about 17 miles and 037 degrees magnetic from the accident site reported at 0753 cdt, wind variable at 03 knots. The same reporting station reported at 0853 cdt, wind variable at 03 knots gusting to 19 knots. At 0900 cdt, the reporting station reported thunderstorms in the vicinity

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.