- Date
- September 17, 1998, 09:15 local (14:15 UTC)
- Place
- Ardmore, OK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1575Bell 47-G-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980917024909A
- Case key
- 43956
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 pilots failure to maintain clearance with terrain and the ensuing loss of control.
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 solo student pilot lost control of the aircraft after the tail rotor contacted the ground. Witnesses to the accident saw the aircraft spin around to the right after the tail rotor hit the ground. When the student pilot attempted to set the aircraft back down, the helicopter rolled on to its side. The winds at the time of the accident were reported to be calm.
Factual narrative
On September 17, 1998, at 0915 central daylight time, a Bell 47-G-2 helicopter, N1575, was substantially damaged following a loss of control while hovering at the Ardmore Downtown Executive Airport near Ardmore, Oklahoma. The solo student pilot was not injured. The helicopter was owned and operated by Versatile Helicopters Inc., of Ardmore, Oklahoma. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 local training flight which originated at 0825.
During an interview conducted by the FAA inspector, the operator of the helicopter said that during a takeoff to hover, the heals of the skids "sunk into the sod and brought the aircraft back, striking the tail rotor blades on the ground." The operator added that "one of the tail rotor blades departed the hub." The pilot stated that after the tail rotor hit, the helicopter "raised off the ground and started spinning to the right." The student pilot added that he, "attempted to level the helicopter by lowering the collective to bring the helicopter to the ground." The helicopter "hit the ground with the left skid and rolled over on to its left side." Winds at the time of the accident were reported to be calm.
Examination of the aircraft by the FAA inspector revealed that the tailboom was destroyed, the cabin sustained structural damage and both main rotor blades were damaged.
The student pilot had accumulated approximately 41 hours in the helicopter and was on his seventh solo flight at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1575
- Reported as
- Bell 47-G-2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 57
- Airframe hours
- 13,948
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-A1F, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Versatile Helicopters Inc.
- Registered owner
- Helicopter Spraying Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 8, 1998 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- 1F0
- Airport
- 1F0 · Ardmore Downtown Executiv, runway 17, 5,000 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 41 total · 12 in this make and model · 4 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 72 °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.
Other investigations on N1575 · 4
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.