# Incident 20230526009819I: Bell 407, Moab, UT, May 26, 2023

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 26, 2023, 10:30 local time
- Place: Moab, UT
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: JAPA
- Location: 38.5701° N, 109.5478° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Moab, UT, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.5701&lon=-109.5478&mi=10
- Aircraft: N407TH, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N407TH) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 407 (registry code 1182206, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-407) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rolls-Royce 250-C47B (registry code 54585, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-250-c47b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 407
- Reported engine: ROLLS-ROYC 250-C47B
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 2,700 total
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230526009819I

## Narrative

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

MAY 26, 2023 2145 MDT

NEAR MOAB UTAH

^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ BELL 407 HAD BIRD STRIKE ON TAIL BOOM/TAIL ROTOR.

4 PERSONS ON BOARD, NO INJURIES.

AIRCRAFT DIVERTED TO GRAND JUNCTION COLORADO

THE AIRCRAFT WAS EVALUATED, HERE IS A LIST OF THE DAMAGE FOUND:

•	ALL FOUR MAIN ROTOR BLADES APPEAR TO HAVE STRUCK A BIRD. ONE BLADE HAS A SMALL VOID ON THE LOWER SKIN IN THE AREA OF CONTACT (VOID IS WITHIN SERVICEABLE LIMITS REF. BHT-407-MM) THE OTHER THREE HAVE NO DAMAGE

•	THE INTERMEDIATE / TRANSMISSION COWLING HAD ONE LARGE DENT AND NUMEROUS SMALL DENTS.

•	THE FORWARD TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT COWLING HAD TWO TEARS ON THE RIGHT SIDE AT THE 2ND AND 3RD ATTACHMENT CLIPS.

•	THE 2ND FORWARD TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT COWLING ATTACHMENT CLIP ON THE TAILBOOM WAS BENT.

•	ONE SMALL CHIP IN THE PAINT ON ONE TAIL ROTOR BLADE, REPAIRABLE PER BHT-407-MM.

BELL HAS DETERMINED THAT THIS EVENT IS NOT CONSIDERED A SUDDEN STOPPAGE EVENT.

## Other reports on N407TH (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 20221005010129I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20221005010129I), Oct 5, 2022: Bell 407 (N407TH), Grand Junction, CO, Minor damage. Around 1930 on 5 October 2022, air ambulance helicopter took off from Grand Junction hospital to return to moab utha. A couple minutes after take off, a large…

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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