# Accident 20031207036139A: Bell OH58A, Ruskin, FL, December 7, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 7, 2003, 15:41 local time
- Place: Ruskin, FL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Autorot Descent (Rotorcraft)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 27.9106° N, 82.6872° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.9106&lon=-82.6872&mi=10
- Aircraft: N62939, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N62939-2005-08-11) (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: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 4,100 total, 400 in this make and model, 72 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL04TA047](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04TA047) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031207036139A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON DECEMBER 7, 2003 AT 1545 EASTERN STANDARD TIME DURING ROUTINE POLICE OPERATIONS HELICOPTER ENGINE POWER WENT TO IDLE POWER. THE PILOT WAS NOT ABLE TO ADVANCE POWER ABOVE IDLE AND MADE AN AUTOROTATION THAT RESULTED IN A COLLISION WITH THE GROUND IN A MARSHY AREA. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED IN THE ACCIDENT.

## 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 ATL04TA047](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04TA047), Dec 7, 2003: Bell OH-58A (N62939), Ruskin, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: Loss of engine power due to undertermined reasons which resulted in a collision with terrain.

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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