- Date
- August 22, 1983, 11:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Avenal, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3982MBell 206-B3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830822042779A
- Case key
- 23829
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 plt was demonstrating autorotative landings in a helicopter equipped with high skid landing gear. During his 4th autorotation, he made a straight-in apch & touched down on level, smooth terrain. As the helicopter was stopping, the high skid rotated rearward & the helicopter pitched nose down & slapped the ground with sufficient forced to activate the ELT. As the nose pitched down, the tail boom rose & struck 1 main rotor blade. The plt stated that the helicopter had touched down smoothly in a level attitude. He believed that the high skid needed to be strengthened. The cross tube assemblies were not directly bolted at the fuselage attachment. Instead, they contained nipples which were designed to resist rotation when properly secured to the fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3982M
- Reported as
- Bell 206-B3
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20J, 317 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Shanair Inc
- Departed
- Avenal, CA
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 35
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Flight hours
- 1,071 total · 194 in this make and model · 108 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BFL
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.