# Accident 20040804023279A: Bell 47G5, Palm Coast, FL, August 4, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 4, 2004, 11:00 local time
- Place: Palm Coast, FL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.6394° N, 81.2269° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.6394&lon=-81.2269&mi=10
- Aircraft: N232MC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N232MC-2005-03-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 47G-5 (registry code 1181032, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-47g-5) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 47G5
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 942 total, 686 in this make and model, 90 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA04GA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA04GA117) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040804023279A

## Narrative

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

(-23) AT 1100 EST DURING AERIAL APPLICATION THE HELICOPTER CRASHED INTO A MARSH NEAR THE MATANSAS WATERWAY. THE PIC SUSTAINED FATAL INJURY AND THE HELICOPTER WAS DESTROYED. NTSB AND FAA INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE TAIL ROTOR GEAR BOX BROKE LOOSE IN FLIGHT FROM THE LOWER TAIL BOOM ATTACH POINT, CUTTING THROUGH THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER AND SHIFTING THE CENTER OF GRAVITY FORWARD AND CAUSING A SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF CONTROL. EVIDENCE OF A CRACK WAS FOUND WITH PAINT IN IT (LAST PAINTED 1995) IN THE CASTING AT THE LOWER TAIL BOOM TO TAIL ROTOR GEAR BOX ATTACH POINT. FOUR SEPARATE WITNESSES ADVISED NTSB AND FAA INVESTIGATORS THAT THE PIC LANDED HARD ON THE TAIL ROTOR STINGER WITHIN DAYS PRECEDING 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 MIA04GA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA04GA117), Aug 4, 2004: Bell 47G-5 (N232MC), Bunnell, FL, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's continued flights and inadequate inspections after repeated tail rotor guard ground strikes due to improper flaring, which resulted in an in-flight failure of tail rotor 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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