- Date
- March 25, 1990, 14:35 local (19:35 UTC)
- Place
- Rockledge, FL
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N10326Bell 47D1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 4, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900325005769A
- Case key
- 32641
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Failure of a connecting rod.
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
During a sightseeing flt, while in cruise flt at 500 ft AGL, the plt heard a noise & autorotated into a tree nursery. The helicopter was substantially damaged. An exam of the eng revealed that one connecting rod failed, resulting in the loss of eng power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N10326
- Reported as
- Bell 47D1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 240
- Airframe hours
- 4,115
- Engine
- Franklin 6V-335, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Flaugher, Gary L.
- Registered owner
- Rockledge Airpark, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 10, 1989 · 96 hours before
- Departed
- X65 · Rockledge, 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
- 40
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 7,190 total · 716 in this make and model · 6,540 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TIX, 12 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.