- Date
- February 21, 1984, 11:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Refugio, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7956JBell 47G4A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840221003819A
- Case key
- 21266
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 helicopter was being used to herd cattle in a heavily wooded/brushy area. The plt reported he was in a hover maneuver at 50-60 ft AGL when he heard a loud sound from the rear of the helicopter. It immediately pitched nose down & started to rotate to the right. After about 2 rotations the helicopter hit the ground. Photographs provided by the plt show that the tailboom & both l & r stabilizers had separated. They also show an impact on the t/r drive shaft & pitch change linkage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7956J
- Reported as
- Bell 47G4A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 7761
- Airframe hours
- 2,821
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-540 B1B3, 280 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dennis O'Connor
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 13, 1982
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 8,744 total · 4,935 in this make and model · 8,608 as pilot in command · 36 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 5 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.