- Date
- April 22, 1992, 07:10 local (11:10 UTC)
- Place
- La Belle, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4028FBell UH-1B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920422015369A
- Case key
- 33085
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
Improper preflight by the pilot-in-command, in his failure to identify a crack in a brazed area surrounding an attach point on the air diffuser. Contributing to the accident following the loss of engine power was obstacles that were ahead of the flight path.
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 stated that the flt path of the helicopter was perpendicular to power lines that were ahead. The flight continued and he further stated that he heard a loud explosion & the eng quit. He pulled the collective control & cleared the power lines then lowered it, & prior to impact with the ground, pulled the collective control to cushion the impact. The helicopter landed hard, bounced, touched down, rolled over on the lt side, then nosed over & came to rest inverted. A small fire was extinguished by several individuals who responded to the accident site. The eng was removed & sent to the manufacturer's facility for examination. Exam of the eng revealed that a mounting boss on the air diffuser failed due to fatigue. The line attached to the boss was the interstage bleed air line. Also, a power turbine blade failed due to fatigue. Review of the eng logbooks revealed that this eng was removed from another helicopter & installed in this helicopter 6 days prior to the accident. The eng had accumulated about 10 hrs since then & 703 hrs since major overhaul. According to the eng daily inspection checklist, the air diffuser external vane brazements should be checked for cracks.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4028F
- Reported as
- Bell UH-1B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 62-1948HC
- Airframe hours
- 6,979
- Engine
- Lycoming TH53-L110, 1,100 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Colony Services, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Helicorp, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 27, 1992 · 31 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
- 47
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 17,000 total · 7,500 in this make and model · 16,800 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.