# Accident 20170707015359A: Bell 407, Topeka, KS, July 7, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 7, 2017, 01:30 local time
- Place: Topeka, KS
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Hover/Holding
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.0692° N, 95.6281° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.0692&lon=-95.6281&mi=10
- Aircraft: N650HP (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BELL 407
- Reported engine: ROLLS-ROYC 250-C47B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 2
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,400 total, 271 in this make and model, 10 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA17CA390](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA17CA390) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170707015359A

## Narrative

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

APPROX. 0032 HRS. - WIND WAS 030 LIGHT AND VARIABLE, WITH APPROACH MADE FROM THE SOUTHWEST OVER THE CORN FIELD INTO THE KHP FACILITY UNDER NIGHT VISION GOGGLES.  CAME TO A HOVER AND TAXIED TO THE KHP CONCRETE RAMP ON WEST SIDE OF BUILDING.  I THEN PEDAL TURNED FACING THE WEST TO LINE UP WITH LANDING LINES PAINTED ON THE RAMP.  I LOOKED UNDER MY GOGGLES AND OBSERVED THE RIGHT PAINTED MARK DIRECTLY UNDER MY RIGHT SKID AT WHICH I ESTIMATE WE WERE APPROX. 4 TO 6 FEET ABOVE.   I THEN LOOKED UP INTO MY GOGGLES TO SET THE HELICOPTER DOWN AT WHICH TIME THE OBSERVER ADVISED WE NEEDED TO MOVE FORWARD.  I TRIED TO MOVE FORWARD BUT NOTHING HAPPENED AT WHICH TIME I FELT A SUDDEN JOLT AND THEN THE NOISE OF THE TAIL ROTOR STRIKE.  I DO NOT REMEMBER, BUT APPARENTLY DROPPED THE COLLECTIVE WHICH CAUSDE THE HELICOPTER TO DROP JUST AS IT WAS STARTING TO ROLL. THE HELICOPTER IMPACTED THE GROUN.D

## 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 GAA17CA390](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA17CA390), Jul 7, 2017: Bell 407 (N650HP), Topeka, KS, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a building during landing.

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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