- Date
- May 18, 2005, 19:30 local (May 19, 2005, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Brush, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N59403Bell 47G-5A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20050519009619A
- Case key
- 61514
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 truck trailer during takeoff. A factor contributing to this accident was the truck trailer.
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 pilot reported that during takeoff, the right rear skid of the helicopter caught on a nearby truck trailer fender. The helicopter nosed over, bounced hard, then spun around colliding with the truck trailer and the ground. The helicopter came to rest on its left side. The pilot reported the helicopter's main rotor was bent, the tail boom was bent downward, the short shaft was broken, the main frame was bent, and the Plexiglas canopy was broken. The pilot stated that it was a "nice day," the winds were "dead calm," and that there was "nothing wrong with the machine." An examination of the helicopter revealed no anomalies that could have contributed to the accident.
Factual narrative
On May 18, 2005, approximately 1930 mountain daylight time, a Bell 47G-5A helicopter, N59403, was substantially damaged when it impacted a truck trailer and terrain during takeoff from a farm 5 -1/2 miles south of Brush, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local, personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of CFR 14 Part 91 without a flight plan. The commercial pilot, the sole person on board, was not injured. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot reported that during takeoff, the right rear skid caught on a nearby truck trailer fender. The helicopter nosed over, bounced hard, then spun around colliding with the truck trailer and the ground. The helicopter came to rest on its left side. The pilot reported the helicopter's main rotor was bent, the tail boom was bent downward, the short shaft was broken, the main frame was bent, and the Plexiglas canopy was broken. The pilot stated that it was a "nice day," the winds were "dead calm," and that there was "nothing wrong with the machine." An examination of the helicopter revealed no anomalies that could have contributed to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N59403
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-5A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 25140
- Airframe hours
- 3,642.4
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-768-BIA, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Joel Marwitz, doing business as Marwitz Helicopter, LLC
- Registered owner
- Phillip R. Edgington
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2005 · 0.3 hours before
- Departed
- Brush, CO
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 208 total · 63 in this make and model · 106 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Temperature
- 70 °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 N59403 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.