- Date
- April 13, 1988, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Taft, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N917BBell 47D1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 11, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880413008899A
- Case key
- 25987
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.
In flight collision with terrain/water
Autorotation - intentional
Flare - misjudgedCause
Aircraft
- Registration
- N917B
- Reported as
- Bell 47D1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 606
- Airframe hours
- 6,567
- Engine
- Franklin 6VS-335-A, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Helt Engineering, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 8, 1987 · 166 hours before
- Departed
- L17
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
- 40
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,298 total · 804 in this make and model · 2,088 as pilot in command · 206 in the last 90 days · 33 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 45 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F
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 N917B · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.
NTSB LAX87LA294Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportTaft, CAThe plt rprtd the eng lost power at about 300' AGL after the helicopter had flown aprx 2.7 hrs without refueling. He initiated an autorotative landing; however, before touchdown, the main rotor blades contacted & severed the tail boom. An exam revealed the…NTSB LAX76FUQ32Accident · No injuriesClosedLancaster, CANTSB SEA65A0044Accident · No injuriesClosedRoseburg, OR