# Accident 20000524008729A: Southwest Florida SW204HP, Ft. Pierce, FL, May 24, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 24, 2000, 08:30 local time
- Place: Ft. Pierce, FL
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Location: 27.4408° N, 80.5608° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.4408&lon=-80.5608&mi=10
- Aircraft: N37BA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N37BA-2004-09-28) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Southwest Florida SW204HP (registry code 1181426, https://openairdocs.org/model/southwest-florida-sw204hp) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming T-53 series (registry code 41552, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-t-53-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA00LA170](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00LA170) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000524008729A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT WAS CONDUCTING AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS AT APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH AND 50 FEET ABOVE THE ORANGE GROVE. AFTER HEARING A LOUD "POP" NOISE THE HELICOPTER YWAED SEVERELY TO THE RIGHT AND PITCHED NOSE DOWN.  THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO REGAIN COMPLETE CONTROL BEFORE COLLIDING WITH ORANGE TREES.  THE HELICOPTER ROTATED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IMPACTING THE GROUND ON ITS LEFT SIDE.  THE TAIL ROTOR 90 DEGREE GEAR BOX AND TAIL RAOTOR BLADE ASSEMBLIES WERE LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 400 YRDS BEHIND THE ACCIDENT SITE.  A TAIL ROTOR BLADE TIP WEIGHT FAILED, CAUSING A SEVER OUT OF BALANCE CONDITION AND A DRASTIC CHANGE TO THE WEIGHT AND BALANCE PROFILE.

## 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 MIA00LA170](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00LA170), May 24, 2000: Southwest Florida SW204 (N37BA), Fort Pierce, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: An in-flight separation of a tail rotor blade tip weight resulting in tail rotor assembly imbalance and separation due to the installation of an unapproved rotor blade by company maintenance…

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.