# Accident 19980524010599A: Bell 47G, Bixby, OK, May 24, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 24, 1998, 18:15 local time
- Place: Bixby, OK
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.9397° N, 95.8690° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9397&lon=-95.8690&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9954F, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9954F-2001-06-04) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 47G (registry code 1181002, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-47g) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 47G
- Reported engine: FRNKLN O3355
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 2,210 total, 83 in this make and model, 21 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA238](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA238) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980524010599A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

STRUCK POWER LINES OVER RIVER WHILE FLYING LOW AND SLOW. IMPACTED ON SANDBAR. (FROM .4) WITNESSES REPORTED OBSERVING THE HELICOPTER FLYING 'SLOW,' AT AN ALTITUDE BELOW 100 FEET AGL, FROM EAST TO WEST ALONG THE ARKANSAS RIVER.  THE HELICOPTER 'STRUCK POWER LINES' THAT SPANNED THE RIVER, DESCENDED VERTICALLY, AND IMPACTED A SANDBAR.  THE WITNESSES ALSO REPORTED THAT THE ENGINE 'SOUNDED OKAY AND IT CONTINUED TO RUN' UNTIL GROUND CONTACT.  THE PASSENGER REPORTED THAT 'WHEN THEY SAW THE POWERLINE TOWER SUPPORTING THE CABLES THAT CROSS THE RIVER AT THE BRIDGE ON MEMORIAL BOULEVARD, THEY TALKED AND DECIDED THEY WOULD TURN AROUND AND GO BACK TO HASKELL.'  THE PASSENGER STATED HE DIDN'T SEE THE OTHER POWER LINE, WHICH CROSS THE RIVER PRIOR TO THE BRIDGE, OR REMEMBER STRIKING THEM.  THE UNMARKED POWER LINE WAS AN ESTIMATED 60 TO 75 FEET AGL.  THE THREE LOWER WIRES OF THE POWER LINE WERE OBSERVED TO BE FRAYED. LINEAR SCRATCHING AND DULL GRAY METAL TRANSFERS WERE FOUND ON SECTIONS OF ONE WOODEN MAIN ROTOR BLADE'S LEADING EDGE AND UNDERSIDE.  THE FORWARD PORTION OF THE CENTER VERTICAL CONSOLE ALSO EXHIBITED LINEAR SCRATCHING.  CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED TO ALL FLIGHT CONTROLS.                  (-23) THE AIRCRAFT WAS FOLLOWING THE ARKANSAS RIVER FROM SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST WHEN IT STRUCK THREE POWER LINES APPROXIMATELY FORTY FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED HARD ON A SAND BAR AND ROLLED OVER ON ITS SIDE, PINNING THE PILOT UNDER PART OF THE WRECKAGE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (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 FTW98FA238](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA238), May 24, 1998: Bell 47G (N9954F), Bixby, OK, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the power lines.

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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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