# Accident 20140503013909A: Bell 47G, Whittier, CA, May 3, 2014

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 3, 2014, 09:45 local time
- Place: Whittier, CA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.0858° N, 118.0347° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.0858&lon=-118.0347&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7895B, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7895B-2017-10-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 47G (registry code 1181002, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-47g) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Franklin 6V4 series (registry code 27033, https://openairdocs.org/engine/franklin-6v4-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 47G
- Reported engine: FRANKLIN 6V4 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,800 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR14LA180](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR14LA180) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20140503013909A

## Narrative

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

ON MAY 3, 2014, CIVIL AIRCRAFT N7598B, A BELL 47G HELICOPTER, DEPARTED SAN GABRIEL VALLEY AIRPORT (EMT) AT 1618UTC FOR A FLIGHT TO COMPTON WOODLEY AIRPORT (CMP).  ON BOARD WERE THE PILOT, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, AND HIS SPOUSE ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. THE FLIGHT HEADED SOUTHBOUND FROM EMT AND OPERATED NORMALLY, CLIMBING TO BETWEEN 600 AND 700 AGL,  UNTIL PASSING THE I-10 FREEWAY WHEN THE PILOT FELT THE AIRFRAME SHUDDER. THE PILOT IN COMMAND, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, STARTED TO TURN AROUND TO RETURN TO EMT WHEN TWO LOUD POPS WERE HEARD COMING THE ENGINE ALONG WITH A LOSS OF POWER. THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO OPERATE AND THE PILOT SAW A PLACE TO LAND AT THE WHITTIER NARROWS PARK. THE PILOT MADE A RAPID PARTIAL POWER DESCENT TO THE OPEN FIELD ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK. SHORTLY BEFORE LANDING TWO MORE LOUD ENGINE POPS WERE HEARD. THE FLIGHT WAS TOO LOW FOR A FULL AUTO ROTATION AND LANDED IN THE SOFT FIELD WITH WHAT APPEARED TO BE A SOFT TOUCHDOWN WITH SUBSTANTIAL FORWARD MOMENTUM. THIS FORWARD MOMENTUM CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO TRAVEL APPROXIMATELY 68 FEET FROM THE TOUCHDOWN POINT WHEREUPON THE AIRCRAFT SKIDS ENCOUNTERED RISING TERRIAN AND DUG INTO THE SOFT GROUND. THIS BROUGHT THE AIRCRAFT TO AN IMMEDIATE STOP AND ROLLED IT ONTO THE RIGHT SIDE. THE MAIN ROTOR BLADE IMPACTED THE GROUND UNDER POWER AND BROKE INTO NUMEROUS PIECES, THE LARGEST OF WHICH LANDED APPROXIMATELY 106 FEET FORWARD OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT SUFFERED SUBSTANTIALIMPACT  DAMAGE TO THE AIRFRAME. THERE WAS NO POST CRASH FIRE AND NEITHER OCCUPANTS OF THE AIRCRAFT WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED. TEH PASSENGER, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, HAD MINOR INJURIES THAT DID NOT REQUIRE HOSPITALIZATION. POST CRASH INVESTIGATION SHOWED THE AIRCRAFT HAD ADEQUATE FUEL AND THE FUEL SELECTOR WAS POSITIONED CORRECTLY. THERE WERE NO OBVIOUS EXTERNAL SIGNS OF THE CAUSE OF THE ENGINE POWER LOSS. NTSB INSPECTOR ALBERT NIXON WILL FOLLOW UP WITH THE FAA IIC FOR SCHEDULING AN INTERNAL INSPECTION OF THE ENGINE AND COMPONENTS TO INVESTIGATE THE CAUSE OF ENGINE POWER LOSS.

ON OCT 9, 2014, INSPECTOR SONNESON OF THE LOS ANGELES FSDO ASSISTED THE NTSB IN THE INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN MOVED TO COMPTON AIRPORT, COMPTON CA. NTSB HIRED A LOCAL MECHANIC TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE LEFT MAGNETO WAS INTERMITTENT.

## 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 WPR14LA180](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR14LA180), May 3, 2014: Bell 47G (N7895B), El Monte, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: A partial loss of engine power during climbout due to a malfunctioning magneto and spark plugs.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.