# Accident 20020802018799A: Bell 412, Rantoul, IL, August 2, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 2, 2002, 19:52 local time
- Place: Rantoul, IL
- Airport: National Aviation Center Airport
- Phase of flight: To Running(Helicopter/Vtol Ac)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.1099° N, 88.2408° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.1099&lon=-88.2408&mi=10
- Aircraft: N464AC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N464AC-2004-06-01) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 412 (registry code 1182202, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-412) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 412
- People aboard: 10
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 16,900 total, 3,500 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI02LA232](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI02LA232) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020802018799A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON AUGUST 2, 2002, AT 1952 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A BELL 412, N464AC, PILOTED BY AN AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT, WAS TAKING OFF FROM THE RANTOUL NATIONAL AVIATION CENTER-FRANK ELLIOT FIELD AIRPORT (TIP), RANTOUL ILLINOIS, WITH A LOAD OF SKYDIVERS, WHEN ITS TAIL ROTOR STRUCK A PHOTOGRAPHER ON THE GROUND. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE 14 CFR PART 91 BUSINESS FLIGHT WAS NOT OPERATING ON A FLIGHT PLAN. THE PILOT AND NINE PASSENGERS WERE UNINJURED. THE PHOTOGRAPHER WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE LOCAL FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. (-23) N464AC, A BELL-412 HELICOPTER WITH 8 SKYDIVERS ABOARD, LIFTED OFF AND BEGAN ITS DEPARTURE ON AN EASTERLY HEADING BETWEEN RUNWAY 9 AND A CORNFIELD WHICH WAS PARALLEL TO RUNWAY 9, BUT OFFSET APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET, AND CONTINUED WITH A RIGHT TURN TO A HEADING OF APPROXIMATELY 120 DEGREES IN ORDER TO MOVE OUT BEYOND THE SKYDIVE ACTIVITY BEING CONDUCTED SIMULTANEOUSLY OVER THE AIRPORT. AS THE HELICOPTER MADE ITS RIGHT TURN TO THE SOUTHEAST, AN INDIVIDUAL EMERGED FROM THE EDGE OF THE CORNFIELD FOR THE PURPOSE OF PHOTOGRAPHING THE HELICOPTER DURING ITS DEPARTURE. AS THE HELICOPTER BANKED, THE     MAIN ROTORS CONTACTED THIS INDIVIDUAL, WHO SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES AS A RESULT. THE AIRCRAFT RETURNED FOR A LANDING AT THE LEFT OF THE AREA AS MEDICAL PERSONNEL WERE SUMMONED.

## 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 CHI02LA232](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI02LA232), Aug 3, 2002: Bell 412 (N464AC), Rantoul, IL, minor damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The congested takeoff and landing area and the low altitude flight maneuver performed by the pilot.

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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