# Accident 19981230034399A: Bell 47G3B2, Murfreesboro, TN, December 30, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 30, 1998, 15:00 local time
- Place: Murfreesboro, TN
- Airport: Murfreesboro Municipal Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.7808° N, 86.3304° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.7808&lon=-86.3304&mi=10
- Aircraft: N123NM, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N123NM) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 47G-3B-2 (registry code 1181029, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-47g-3b-2) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250 series (registry code 03019, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 47G3B2
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C20B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,813 total, 149 in this make and model, 36 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL99LA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL99LA036) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981230034399A

## Narrative

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

BELL 47G-3B-A HELICOPTER LANDED HARD, AND THE MAIN ROTOR SHEARED THE TAIL BOOM. (-23) PILOT IMPACTED RUNWAY 36 AT MBT FROM A 5 FOOT HOVER/TAXI ON LANDING. PILOT STATED HE DROPPED HIS CHART THEN REACHED DOWN TO PICK IT UP CAUSING FORWARD INPUT OF THE CYCLIC. THE BELL 47 STRUCK THE GROUND ON THE FORWARD SKIDS WITH A SLOW FORWARD AIRSPEED. THE PILOT THEN PULLED BACK ON THE CYCLIC CAUSING THE MAIN ROTOR TO FLEX DOWN. THIS ABRUPT CONTROL INPUT CAUSED THE MAIN ROTOR TO OSCILLATE AND IMPACT THE TOP SECTION OF THE TAIL BOOM THUS SHEARING THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVESHAFT. (.19) ON DECEMBER 30, 1998, ABOUT 1500 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A BELL 47G-B3-2, HELICOPTER N123NM, WAS LANDED HARD AT THE MURFREESBORO MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE. THE HELICOPTER WAS OPERATED BY PHOTO DATA SERVICES LLC, UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91, AND VISUAL FLIGHT RULES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE LOCAL AERIAL SURVEY FLIGHT. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO THE COMMERCIAL HELICOPTER PILOT NOR TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER, AND THE HELICOPTER WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. THE FLIGHT HAD ORIGINATED FROM THE MURFREESBORO AIRPORT ABOUT 1400, ON THE SAME DAY.           THE PILOT REPORTED HE WAS RETURNING FROM THE LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHIC FLIGHT TO REFUEL. AN FAA INSPECTOR, WHO VISITED THE SITE, STATED THE HELICOPTER WAS LANDING ON RUNWAY 36. THE PILOT INFORMED THE INSPECTOR THAT ON SHORT FINAL APPROACH, HIS FLIGHT CHART SLIPPED OFF HIS RIGHT LEG. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT HE WAS MOMENTARILY DISTRACTED AND LOOKED DOWN AT THE CHART. THE HELICOPTER THEN TOUCHED DOWN. THE PILOT SAID HE INSTINCTIVELY PULLED BACK ON THE CYCLIC CONTROL, RESULTING IN A MAIN ROTOR BLADE CONTACTING AND PARTIALLY SEVERING THE TAIL BOOM. ADDITIONALLY, ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT WAS SEVERED. (.4) ON DECEMBER 30, 1998, ABOUT 1500 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A BELL 47G-3B-2 HELICOPTER, N123NM, COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND DURING A LANDING ON RUNWAY 36 AT THE MURFREESBORO MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (MBT), MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE. THE HELICOPTER WAS OPERATED BY PHOTO DATA SERVICES LLC, UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91, AND VISUAL FLIGHT RULES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE LOCAL AERIAL SURVEY FLIGHT. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO THE COMMERCIAL HELICOPTER PILOT NOR THE PHOTOGRAPHER. THE HELICOPTER WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. THE FLIGHT HAD ORIGINATED FROM THE MURFREESBORO AIRPORT ABOUT 1400 ON THE SAME DAY. THE PILOT HAD COMPLETED A LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHIC FLIGHT, AND WAS RETURNING TO THE AIRPORT TO REFUEL. WHILE ON SHORT FINAL TO LAND, ABOUT FIVE FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, THE PILOT'S FLIGHT CHART SLIPPED OFF HIS RIGHT LEG, AND HE WAS MOMENTARILY DISTRACTED WHILE LOOKING DOWN TO RETRIEVE THE CHART. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE HELICOPTER STRUCK THE GROUNDIN A LEVEL ATTITUDE ON THE SKIDS. THE PASSENGER DESCRIBED THE TOUCHDOWN AS "ABNORMALLY HARD". THE PILOT SAID WHEN HE WENT TO REPOSITION THE HELICOPTER FOR REFUELING, HE HAD NO TAIL ROTOR PEDAL CONTROL HE THEN PROCEEDED TO SHUT THE HELICOPTER DOWN. AN EXAMINATION OF THE HELICOPTER DISCLOSED THAT THE TAIL BOOM ASSEMBLY HAD BEEN SEVERED, AND THERE WAS DAMAGE TO THE TRAILING EDGE OF ONE OF THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES. NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE HELICOPTER WERE REPORTED BY THE PILOT.

## 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 ATL99LA036](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL99LA036), Dec 30, 1998: Bell 47G-3B-2 (N123NM), Murfreesboro, TN, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate flare and his diverted attention, which resulted in a hard landing.

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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