- Date
- April 16, 2000, 12:08 local (19:08 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Canyon, AZ
- Injuries
- 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N175PABell 407
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 17, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000416005779A
- Case key
- 48969
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 failure and subsequent disintegration of the oil cooler fan forward hanger bearing.
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
About 5 minutes after takeoff, while in cruise flight, the pilot felt a few short 'clunks' and then heard grinding noise and felt violent shaking. The pilot elected to perform a precautionary, autorotative, off-airport landing. During the landing flare, the tail rotor and tail stinger contacted the ground. The tail rotor blades were damaged, the stinger broken, and the tail rotor gearbox was fractured. The vibration that the pilot felt was traced to a failed bearing at the oil cooler fan forward hanger. The bearing was sent to the helicopter manufacturer for examination; however, a fracture mode could not be identified due to damage to the fracture surfaces. An airworthiness directive applied to the bearing and was complied with 11 flight hours prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
On April 16, 2000, at 1208 hours mountain standard time, a Bell 407, N175PA, was substantially damaged during a precautionary, autorotative, off-airport landing near Grand Canyon, Arizona. The commercial certificated pilot and five passengers were not injured. The local area sightseeing flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 135 by Papillon Airways, Inc. A company VFR flight plan was filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that departed from the Grand Canyon National Park airport at 1205.
The pilot reported he felt a few short "clunks" while in cruise flight about 5 minutes after takeoff. Next there was "a very loud grinding noise and the aircraft began to SHAKE VIOLENTLY." The pilot decided to autorotate to a nearby clearing. During the landing flare, the tail rotor and tail stinger contacted the ground. The tail rotor blades were damaged, the stinger broken, and the tail rotor gearbox was fractured.
The vibration that the pilot felt was traced to a failed bearing at the oil cooler fan forward hanger. The bearing was sent to Bell Helicopter/Textron for examination; however, the laboratory report states that a fracture mode could not be identified due to damage to the fracture surfaces. Airworthiness Directive 2000-02-12 applied to the bearing and was complied with 11 flight hours prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N175PA
- Reported as
- Bell 407
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 53154
- Airframe hours
- 1,848
- Engine
- Allison 250-C47B, 647 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Papillon Airways Inc., doing business as Papillon Grand Cyn Helicopters
- Registered owner
- India I Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 31, 2000 · 33 hours before
- Departed
- GCN · AZ
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 7,222 total · 363 in this make and model · 7,170 as pilot in command · 99 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GCN, 5 nm away
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 N175PA · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.