# Incident 20010417024889I: Bell TH13T, Hartselle, AL, April 17, 2001

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 17, 2001, 12:00 local time
- Place: Hartselle, AL
- Airport: Rountree Field Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.4404° N, 86.9404° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Hartselle, AL, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.4404&lon=-86.9404&mi=10
- Aircraft: N55ER, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N55ER) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell TH-13T (registry code 1180813, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-th-13t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-435 (registry code 41516, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-435) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL TH13T
- Reported engine: LYC O435
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 140 total, 130 in this make and model, 10 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010417024889I

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT STATED THAT AT ABOUT 75 TO 100 FEET HE HEARD A NOISE THAT SOUNDED LIKE MASS BUMPING. HE THEN LOWERED THE COLLECTIVE AND THE AIRCRAFT WENT INTO ABOUT A 10 TO 15 DEGREE NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE. AS THE AIRCRAFT APPROACHED THE GROUND THE PILOT REALIZED THAT THERE WAS NO LONGITUDINAL CONTROL. THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN BACKWARDS AND SKID FOR ABOUT EIGHT FEET. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE LONGITUDINAL CYCLIC CONTROL TUBE HAD FAILED. THE UPPER RIVETED ROD END HAD PULLED OUT OF THE CYCLIC TUBE ASSEMBLY.

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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