# Accident 19990517005339A: Bell OH58A, Poplar Bluff, MO, May 17, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 17, 1999, 16:00 local time
- Place: Poplar Bluff, MO
- Damage: Destroyed
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.7633° N, 90.4140° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Poplar Bluff, MO, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.7633&lon=-90.4140&mi=10
- Aircraft: N77MP, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N77MP-2000-05-01) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell OH-58A (registry code 1181579, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-oh-58a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL OH58A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI99GA155](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI99GA155) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990517005339A

## Narrative

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

MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL BELL OH-58A PUBLIC USE HELICOPTER WAS REPORTEDLY BEING USED FOR A CHARITY FUNCTION WHEN IT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE PILOT AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER ON BOARD SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES, THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED. (-23)WHILE RETURNING TO AIRPORT BASE OF OPERATIONS (POF), WITNESSES DESCRIBE HELICOPTER AT LOW ALTITUDE AND CRUISE AIRSPEED PRIOR TO ACCIDENT.  JUST PRIOR TO IMPACT WITNESSES INDIACTED TAIL ROTOR HAD STOPPED TURNING AND WAS DESCENDING VERTICALLY QUITE RAPIDLY WITH MAIN ROTOR BARELY TURNING IF AT ALL.  AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST IN AN UPRIGHT PROFILE SUSTAINING SEVERE DAMAGE TO UNDERCARRIAGE, MAIN ROTOR BLADES & TRANSMISSION, ENGINE, TAILBOOM AND TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT AREAS.  INITIAL AIRCRAFT INVESTIGATION REVEALED SEVERED TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT LOCATED ON TAIL BOOM AND THE APPEARANCE OF INSUFFICIENT MAIN ROTOR ENERGY TO CUSHION LANDING PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN.

## 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 CHI99GA155](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI99GA155), May 17, 1999: Bell OH-58A (N77MP), Poplar Bluff, MO, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The tail rotor's impact with the blue warm-up jacket and the subsequent overload of the tail rotor drive shaft. A contributing factor was the absence of the helicopter's entry doors.

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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