- Date
- November 19, 2022, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Searcy, AR
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N184SFBell 407
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-hover: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- 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
- Case key
- 106374
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 failure to maintain clearance from the electrical box while repositioning.
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 he was repositioning the helicopter on the helipad to refuel. During the maneuver, the helicopter drifted aft and the tailrotor struck an electrical box. The helicopter lost tail rotor authority and landed hard on the skids. The tailrotor driveshaft, gearbox, and driveshaft sustained substantial damage. The operator reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N184SF
- Reported as
- Bell 407
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 53087
- Built
- 1996
- Airframe hours
- 6,837.7
- Engine
- Rolls-Royc 250-C47B, 650 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 135
- Operator
- Viking Aviation LLC, doing business as Survival Flight
- Registered owner
- Gm Leasing Co LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · August 29, 2022
- Departed
- AR45 · Little Rock, AR
- Destination
- AR78 · Searcy, AR
- Airport
- AR78 · Unity Health Specialty Care
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, ADS-B, Satellite tracking device, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- March 19, 2022
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 3,433 total · 382 in this make and model · 2,076 as pilot in command · 64 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 16 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.35 inHg
- Observed at
- KSRC, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KSRC 192256Z AUTO 25006KT 10SM CLR 07/M09 A3035 RMK AO2 SLP279 T00671094
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 15, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.1 MB in all.