Bell 47G-2 N67083

Summary

On 31 August 2000 at about 14:30 local time, a Bell 47G-2 registered N67083 was involved in an accident near Spring Brook, Wisconsin, 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

31 August 2000 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Spring Brook, Wisconsin, United States

Coordinates

45.9407, -91.6791

Aircraft

Bell 47G-2

Registration

N67083

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

CHI00LA277

Nobody was injured.

A fatigue failure of the tail rotor drive gear shaft.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter impacted the terrain following a loss of tail rotor effectiveness. The pilot reported he just completed a turn in order to begin a swath run when he experienced a loss of tail rotor effectiveness. He attempted to control the helicopter, however it continued to rotate until it impacted the terrain in a clearing in a wooded area. Post accident examination revealed a failure of the tail rotor drive gear assembly. The drive gear shaft was fractured at the underside of the bevel gear. Metallurgical examination revealed fatigue was found over 90 to 95 percent of the shaft cross sectional area. The fatigue cracking origin was on the cylindrical portion of the shaft surface, adjacent to the keyway slot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.