- Date
- October 28, 1991, 14:50 local (19:50 UTC)
- Place
- Rome, GA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N925VBell 47D-1
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 9, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911028048259A
- Case key
- 8543
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The failure of a tail rotor blade for undetermined reasons.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot had completed two traffic patterns and during the third takeoff for another approach the flight instructor felt a thump in the airframe. Immediately, he entered an autorotation and landed in a wooded area. Examination of the helicopter disclosed that the tail rotor gearbox and tail rotor assemblies were missing. According to the operator both assemblies were recovered the following day, however the NTSB was never notified of the recovery. The damaged components were examined by the operator and destroyed. According to the mechanic, one rotor blade failed in the vicinity where AD 59-05-10 applied; the AD required a daily inspection of the tail rotor blades for cracks. According to the pilot, an inspection of the blades had been completed prior to this flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N925V
- Reported as
- Bell 47D-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 643
- Airframe hours
- 3,979
- Engine
- Franklin 6VS-335-50, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Silver Hawk Aviation
- Registered owner
- Steele, Douglas D.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 15, 1991 · 10 hours before
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.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 30
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,990 total · 12 in this make and model · 1,770 as pilot in command · 47 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CHA, 40 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N925V · 4
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.