Bell UH-1H N51AG
16 December 2004 · Rockford, Alabama, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 16 December 2004 at about 22:20 local time, a Bell UH-1H registered N51AG, operated by AGRotors Inc., was involved in an accident near Rockford, Alabama, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 22:20
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Rockford, Alabama, United States
- Coordinates
- 32.9089, -85.9578
- Aircraft
- Bell UH-1H
- Registration
- N51AG
- Category
- Helicopter
- Operator
- AGRotors Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 137: Agricultural
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial Application
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Rockford → Rockford
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- NTSB number
- ATL05LA035
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate obstacle clearance, which resulted in an in-flight collision with a tree.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
According to the pilot, during a turn while applying fertilizer over pine trees he heard a "loud bang"; at the same time he lost tail rotor authority. The pilot attempted to level the helicopter and settled into the trees. Post accident examination reveal the helicopter was upright and on its skids. Flight control continuity was established with the cyclic and the collective controls. Examination of the tail rotor blades revealed leading edge damage on both blades. Examination of the helicopter revealed the lower fuselage was buckled and the tail rotor rear housing of the tail rotor gearbox transmission was broken and cracked. The tail rotor assembly was examined and revealed that the fracture features on the case assembly indicated an overload event. The wear patterns on the teeth of the bevel gears within the gearbox indicated that they were forced apart. There were no indications of any pre-exiting conditions on the components examined that would suggest a failure before the tail rotor strike.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Bell UH-1H accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jul 2004 | Bell UH-1H | Childs, Florida, United States | USDA Forest Service | No injuries | - |
| 22 May 2003 | Bell UH-1H | Kahoolawe, Hawaii, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 15 Oct 2003 | Bell UH-1H | Sacramento, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 26 Sep 2005 | Bell UH-1H | Pisa Flores, Mexico | Comision Federal de Electricidad | Fatal | 1 |
| 1 Apr 2006 | Bell UH-1H | Yuba City, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 13 Nov 2006 | Bell UH-1H | Melrose, New Mexico, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jan 2004 | Current KITFOX 313 | Selma, Alabama, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 28 Mar 2004 | Aircraft Mfg & Development ALARUS CH2T | Bay Minette, Alabama, United States | Phil's Flying Enterprises, Inc | Serious injuries | - |
| 20 Jun 2004 | Piper PA-25-235 | Gulf Shores, Alabama, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 2 Aug 2004 | Mooney M20F | Brewton, Alabama, United States | Stephen Spencer Wooten | No injuries | - |
| 21 Oct 2004 | Piper PA-32RT-300T | Guntersville, Alabama, United States | Robert Thomas Webb | Serious injuries | - |
| 15 Sep 2004 | Cessna 172RG | Montgomery, Alabama, United States | - | No injuries | - |