FTW84LA130

NTSB accident investigation · Bell 47G-2A · Benavides, TX · February 8, 1984

Accident · Minor injuriesLimited investigationFinal report

Date: February 8, 1984, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
Place: Benavides, TX
Injuries: 1 minor, 1 uninjured
Damage: Substantial damage
Phase of flight: Maneuvering
Aircraft: N8478EBell 47G-2A
Weather: Visual (VMC) · Day
Status: Completed
Report: Approved by Office Director
FAA report: 19840208003139A
Case key: 21254

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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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.

Loss of engine powerHover

Miscellaneous - undeterminedCause

Low pass - performedPilot in commandFactor

Forced landingLanding - flare/touchdown

Autorotation - attemptedPilot in commandFactor

Hard landingLanding - flare/touchdown

Object - tree(s)Factor

Flare - not possiblePilot in commandCause

Altitude - inadequatePilot in commandCause

Analysis

The plt was herding cattle when an eng failure occurred over a small group of trees. The plt auto-rotated and the acft landed hard.

Aircraft

Registration: N8478E
Reported as: Bell 47G-2A
Category: Helicopter
Serial number: 2676
Engine: Lycoming VO-435-A1E, 240 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage: Substantial damage
Flight: Business · Part 91
Registered owner: Smith Helicopter,Inc.
Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
Last inspection: 100 hour · May 13, 1983 · 3 hours before

N8478ERegistration cancelled Apr 1, 1998 · Bell 47G-2AS/N 2676 Airframe modelBell 47G-2A

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: 28
Certificate: Commercial
Medical: Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Seat: Right
Flight hours: 5,339 total · 1,717 in this make and model · 5,297 as pilot in command · 231 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions: Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind: 30° at 3 knots
Visibility: 10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling: None
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.

Accident 19840208003139ABell 47G2A · Benavides, TXEngine quit a 50 ft AGL while hearding cattle. Made hard landing. Main rotors struck trees. No engine defects notedFeb 8, 1984 · N8478E · Substantial damage