- Date
- March 27, 2021, 17:25 local (22:25 UTC)
- Place
- Pottsboro, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1045CBell OH-58
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210327004459A
- Case key
- 102827
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 failure to maintain directional control of the helicopter when it encountered an unanticipated wind allowing it to drift into a fence and subsequently roll over and impact terrain.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
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.
Analysis
The pilot reported that while in a hover and preparing to land in a field, wind caught the turbine-powered helicopter causing it to drift into a fence. The helicopter’s skid caught on the fence and the helicopter flipped over onto its right side, impacting terrain, and coming to rest on a driveway. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom, fuselage, and main rotor system. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. About 30 minutes before the accident, an automated weather reporting station located about 6 miles south of the accident side, reported wind from 220o at 6 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1045C
- Reported as
- Bell OH-58
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 71-20527
- Built
- 1972
- Engine
- Allison T63-A-700, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- Sherman, TX
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
- 72
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 3
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.85 inHg
- Observed at
- KGYI, 3 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 13, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 367 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.