- Date
- January 29, 1983, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Riverview, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N74822Bell 47G2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830129003239A
- Case key
- 30843
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
According to the pilot he lost control of the acft after a bird hit him on the right temple while flying at about 15 feet above the water. The acft was traveling at about 50 mph when the bird flew in through left door opening. The pilot lost control of the acft and it then crashed into the ocean.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N74822
- Reported as
- Bell 47G2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 456
- Airframe hours
- 3,386
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-A1E, 240 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Grogan Helicopters Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 1982 · 55 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
- 48
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 6,692 total · 4,969 in this make and model · 4,969 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 2 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.