- Date
- July 1, 1989, 23:10 local (Jul 2, 1989, 03:10 UTC)
- Place
- Fruitland, MD
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6760DBell 47J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report December 10, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890701019749A
- Case key
- 11510
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
Poor judgement of the pilot by flying, while physically impaired by alcohol, and his misjudgement of clearance between the helicopter and the structure. The dark night and object (structure) were considered to be contributing factors.
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 plt initially landed at an arpt to obtain fuel; however, the pumps had been closed down for the night & fuel was not available. He departed the arpt & elected to land at a convenience store which had fuel pumps. Drg a landing at night, the helicopter contacted the wooden framed canopy structure which covered the fuel pumps. Subsequently, the plt lost control of the helicopter & it descended & impacted the pavement. About 1 hr after the acdnt, the state police administered a breathalyzer test, which showed the plt had an alcohol level of aprx 0.13%.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6760D
- Reported as
- Bell 47J
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1780
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-A1D, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Marc J. Wood
- Registered owner
- Murry E. Markley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 27, 1989 · 13 hours before
- Departed
- SBY · Salisbury, MD
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
- 38
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 4,000 total · 2,500 in this make and model · 3,940 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.