- Date
- March 7, 2026, 22:10 local (Mar 8, 2026, 04:10 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Worth, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N911FWBell Textron Canada 505
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Status
- Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Safran, Bell Helicopters, FAA FSDO
- Case key
- 202617
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Preliminary report
What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.
On March 7, 2026, at 2210 Central daylight time, a Bell Textron 505 helicopter, N911FW, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Fort Worth, Texas. The pilot and crew member were not injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 public use flight. The pilot reported that during takeoff, as the helicopter was climbing above the trees the engine power decreased to idle power. The pilot performed a forced landing to an open grass field. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer. A post examination of the wreckage is pending.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N911FW
- Reported as
- Bell Textron Canada 505
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 65491
- Built
- 2024
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public aircraft - local · Public use
- Operator
- City Of Fort Worth
- Registered owner
- City Of Fort Worth
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KFTW · Fort Worth, TX
- Airport
- FTW · Fort Worth Meacham Intl
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC)
- Wind
- 310° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- KFTW, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KFTW 080353Z 31004KT 10SM CLR 09/07 A3010 RMK AO2 SLP193 T00890067