# Accident 20020608013909A: Bell 47G3B1, Nederland, CO, June 8, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 8, 2002, 10:20 local time
- Place: Nederland, CO
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.6678° N, 106.0525° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.6678&lon=-106.0525&mi=10
- Aircraft: N999DW (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BELL 47G3B1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW02LA177](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW02LA177) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020608013909A

## Narrative

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

(-23) JUNE 8, 2002, AT 1020 MTN TIME, BELL 47G-3B-1 HELICOPTER, N999DW, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE WHILE IN CRUISE FLT NEAR NEDERLANDS, CO. THE HELICOPTER WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT. THE PRIVATE PILOT, SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE HELICOPTER, WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FAR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE LOCAL FLT ORIGINATED FROM THE PILOT'S PRIVATE STAGING AREA IN NEDERLAND. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, THE HELICOPTER WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT 9,000 FT. (700 FT. AGL) WITH A 20-25 KNOT HEADWIND AND LIGHT TURBULENCE, WHEN THE FLT ENCOUNTERED "SEVERE TURBULENCE". HE STATED THAT THE HELICOPTER WENT "UP AND DOWN VIOLENTLY FOR A PERIOD OF 2-3 SECONDS." THE HELICOPTER THEN BEGAN SPINNING TO THE RIGHT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE PILOT PERFORMED AN AUTOROTATION TO SLOPING TERRAIN WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. THE PILOT EXAMINED THE HELICOPTER AND REPORTED THAT THE TAILROTOR DRIVESHAFT WAS SEPARATED, THE TAILBOOM WAS DAMAGED, AND ONE MAIN ROTOR BLADE WAS DAMAGED DUE TO INFLIGHT TURBULENCE. A WITNESS, WHO WAS FISHING NEARBY OBSERVED WATERSPOUTS BETWEEN 2-8 FT. TALL AND HIGH SWIRLING WINDS.

## 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 FTW02LA177](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW02LA177), Jun 8, 2002: Bell 47G-3B-1 (N999DW), Nederland, CO, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's inadvertent in-flight encounter with severe turbulence, which resulted in main rotor-tailboom contact and the separation of the tailrotor drive shaft.

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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