- Date
- July 30, 1990, 10:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hudson, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8140JBell 47G-5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900730029629A
- Case key
- 14730
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
Improper touchdown performed by the pilot in command.
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
Having completed an aerial application operation, the commercial pilot said that he attempted to land on a farm field to check crop conditions. He said that he landed hard, heels of the skids first, resulting in the main rotor flexing down and contacting the tail boom and tail rotor, causing substantial damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8140J
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-5
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 25008
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-B1A, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Ritel Copter Service Inc.
- Departed
- Hudson, IA
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
- 29
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 1,529 total · 1,119 in this make and model · 1,499 as pilot in command · 81 in the last 90 days · 26 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
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 N8140J · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.