- Date
- September 12, 2007, 13:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Avondale, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N360SSBell 47G-3B-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20070912021869A
- Case key
- 66631
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 attain translational lift and his improper flare. A contributing factor in this accident was the sudden wind shift.
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 took off downhill with no wind. The wind shifted to the west to a tailwind of 10 to 12 knots. The pilot said he was "unable to gain effective translational lift" and he attempted to land with a forward speed of 5 to 6 mph. He attempted to stop the helicopter but in doing so, "the tail skid struck the ground at the same time the skids did. Then the aircraft lurched forward, causing the main rotor to come in contact with the tail boom." The tail boom was severed and the skids were broken torsionally from the airframe.
Factual narrative
On September 12, 2007, approximately 1330 mountain daylight time, a Bell 57G-3B-1, N360SS, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged during a hard landing near Avondale, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The aerial application flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 137 without a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was not injured. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to the pilot's statement, he was crop dusting a field approximately 17 miles south of Pueblo. He took off downhill with no wind. The wind shifted to the west to a tailwind of 10 to 12 knots. The pilot said he was "unable to gain effective translational lift" and he attempted to land with a forward speed of 5 to 6 mph. He attempted to stop the helicopter but in doing so, "the tail skid struck the ground at the same time the skids did. Then the aircraft lurched forward, causing the main rotor to come in contact with the tail boom." An examination of the helicopter revealed the tail boom was severed and the skids were broken torsionally from the airframe. The helicopter came to rest upright.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N360SS
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-3B-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3696
- Airframe hours
- 7,396
- Engine
- Lycoming TVO-435-B1A, 265 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Olathe Spray Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 1, 2007 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Avondale, CO
- Destination
- NONE · Avondale, 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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 27,532 total · 1,768 in this make and model · 353 in the last 90 days · 88 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 10 knots, gusting 12
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.