- Date
- May 29, 1986, 13:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Panama City Bch, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N10065Bell 47-D1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860529019959A
- Case key
- 31642
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 pilot had intended to hover the helicopter and allow a 'clown' to touch the skids while a photographer recorded the event looking upward to give the appearance that the 'clown' was hanging from the skid. The 'clown' grabbed the left rear skid and the pilot added power and full right forward cyclic control. The pilot then added more power and lost partial control of the aircraft. He then circled over the highway and the heliport building before crashing nose low into an adjacent parking lot. The 'clown' jumped from the helicopter just prior to impact.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N10065
- Reported as
- Bell 47-D1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 830(51-14065
- Airframe hours
- 5,780
- Engine
- Franklin 210, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Whirley Bird
- Registered owner
- Rodney Allison
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 16, 1986 · 71 hours before
- Departed
- Panama City Bch, FL
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 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,400 total · 1,480 in this make and model · 4,100 as pilot in command · 68 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PFN, 11 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 N10065 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.