- Date
- July 9, 1996, 10:15 local (14:15 UTC)
- Place
- Bartow, FL
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N6356Bell 47G
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 23, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960709016219A
- Case key
- 3741
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 pilot's inadequate visual lookout, and his failure to maintain ground clearance, while maneuvering to avoid a collision with a utility line.
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 purpose of the flight was to survey alligator nests along a canal. According to the pilot, they had been flying low (50 to 100 feet), at approximately 35 miles per hour, along the canal when the passenger warned him of utility lines crossing their intended route of flight. As the pilot executed a quick stop maneuver to avoid a collision with the utility lines, the tail rotor assembly collided with the ground. No mechanical problems were reported. The pilot also stated that a better scanning technique, and a slightly higher altitude may have prevented this accident.
Factual narrative
On July 9, 1996, at 1015 eastern daylight time, a Bell 47G helicopter, N6356, collided with the ground during a quick stop maneuver near Bartow, Florida. The aerial observation flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The helicopter was destroyed; the commercial pilot and his passenger received minor injuries. The flight departed Bartow, Florida, at 0845.
The pilot stated that the purpose of the flight was to survey alligator nests along the canal. According to the pilot, they had been flying low (50 to 100 feet), at approximately 35 miles per hour, along a canal when the passenger warned him of utility lines crossing their intended route of flight. As the pilot executed a quick stop maneuver to avoid a collision with the utility lines, the tail rotor assembly collided with the ground. No mechanical problems were reported. The pilot also stated that a better scanning technique, and a slightly higher altitude may have prevented this accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6356
- Reported as
- Bell 47G
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1671
- Airframe hours
- 18,000
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-A1F, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Maverick Helicopter Inter
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 23, 1996 · 20 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
- 26
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,250 total · 500 in this make and model · 1,150 as pilot in command · 120 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAL, 25 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.