# N3978Y: 1978 Aerospatiale SA315B, registration cancelled 2002-09-13

- Type: Cancelled registration (FAA registry, deregistered aircraft)
- Cancelled: September 13, 2002
- Status when cancelled: Triennial form not returned
- Airframe: [Aerospatiale SA315B](https://openairdocs.org/model/aerospatiale-sa315b) (registry code 8680615)
- Engine: [Turbomeca ARTOUSTEIIIB](https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-artousteiiib) (registry code 60003)
- Data sheets: [TCDS H1IN](https://openairdocs.org/tcds/H1IN), [TCDS E1IN](https://openairdocs.org/tcds/E1IN) (OpenAirDocs)
- Serial number: 2520
- Year built: 1978
- Type of aircraft: Rotorcraft
- Engine type: Turbo-shaft
- Airworthiness: Standard, normal
- Airworthiness date: February 25, 1993
- Certificate issued: June 27, 1983
- Last registry action: April 25, 2001
- Mode S code: A4A051
- Owner when cancelled: [Roberts Aircraft Company](https://openairdocs.org/faa-owner/ROBERTS%20AIRCRAFT%20COMPANY)
- Location: [Granite Canyon, WY](https://openairdocs.org/faa-place/WY/Granite%20Canyon)
- Physical address: [Burns, WY](https://openairdocs.org/faa-place/WY/Burns)
- Owner type: Corporation
- Owner's area on the map: 41.0534° N, 105.1786° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at the center of ZIP code 82059, within about 5 miles (OpenAirDocs). The owner's mailing address, not where the aircraft was based
- The mark today: https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3978Y
- FAA registry: https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=3978Y
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3978Y-2002-09-13

From the FAA registry file of October 29, 2026, cancelled registrations. Owners' street addresses are left out. The Mode S code belongs to the N-number, not the airframe.

ADs and bulletins for the Aerospatiale SA315B: https://openairdocs.org/model/aerospatiale-sa315b.md

## NTSB investigations (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB DEN02GA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02GA085), Jul 31, 2002: Aerospatiale SA315B (N3978Y), Estes Park, CO, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's abrupt collective input during water application to a forest fire. Contributing factors were encountering a vortex ring state, the inadvertent settling with power, the low altitude, and…

## FAA accident and incident reports (1)

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [Accident 20020730021349A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020730021349A), Jul 30, 2002: Aerosp SA315B (N3978Y), Estespark, CO, No damage, 1 fatal. (-23) Fatal helicopter accident involving N3978Y, an aerospatiale SA315B lama, at the big elk incident, within arapahoe-roosevelt national forest on July 30,…

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