Bell 47D N74823

Summary

On 1 January 2021 at about 20:15 local time, a Bell 47D registered N74823 was involved in an accident near Marana, Arizona, 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

1 January 2021 at 20:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Marana, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Marana Rgnl (KAVQ)

Coordinates

32.4096, -111.2184

Aircraft

Bell 47D

Registration

N74823

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1953

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucson → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR21LA077

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain helicopter control, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter pilot reported that, while hover taxing on the taxiway, a Cessna airplane taxied from the ramp onto the same taxiway and turned toward and approached the helicopter. The helicopter pilot assumed that the Cessna would turn onto another taxiway toward the runway, however the Cessna continued toward the helicopter. The helicopter pilot stated that he went into a vertical lift, but "due to low rotor RPM the helicopter went into a loss of control spin". The helicopter landed hard to the left of the taxiway, substantially damaging the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.