- Date
- February 10, 1983, 10:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Irvine, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N1375XBell 47G-5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830210004969A
- Case key
- 23537
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 landed hard in a field off the airport following an engine power loss. The acfr had lifted off and only traveled about 50 feet at 15 feet AGL when the power loss occurred. An engine teardown revealed that the rings on 3 cylinders had not seated and were leaking oil into the combustion chambers. The plugs in these cylinders were carbon fouled.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1375X
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-5
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 7840
- Airframe hours
- 2,509
- Engine
- Lycoming L-3840-31, 265 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Pacific Rotors, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 3, 1983 · 10 hours before
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,500 total · 2,500 in this make and model · 4,500 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 52 °F
- 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 N1375X · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.