- Date
- April 25, 1987, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Ardmore, OK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Emergency descent
- Aircraft
- N3575Bell 47D1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870425021269A
- Case key
- 22356
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 pilot reportedly heard an unusual noise in the engine and made a precautionary autorotation to landing. Touchdown was on uneven terrain and in a nose low attitude. This resulted in the tail rotor assembly being chopped off the tail boom by the main rotor blades. After recovery the owner/operator stated he found no evidence of anything other than a hard landing which resulted in the main rotor blades making contact with the tail boom and chopping it in two.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3575
- Reported as
- Bell 47D1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- K-7032
- Airframe hours
- 4,000
- Engine
- Franklin O-335-5D, 165 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Versatile Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 1987 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- 1F0 · Ardmore, OK
- Destination
- 1F0 · Ardmore, OK
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
- 24
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 520 total · 394 in this make and model · 417 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N3575 · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.