- Date
- February 28, 1993, 17:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Rio Grande, PR
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N37870Huddleston-Bell 47G2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 10, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930228010819A
- Case key
- 33233
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
Poor in-flight planning by the pilot-in-command. Contributing to the accident was the flight's lack of total experience.
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 student plt reported that during cruise flt, he noted a strong vibration from the helicopter and a tendency for the helicopter to go to the right. He executed a 180-degree turn and while descending for a precautionary landing to a concrete pad, the main rotor blades collided with a tree. The helicopter then descended, collided with the ground, and rolled onto its rt side. No determination could be made as to the reason for the reported vibration or yawing tendency. According to an FAA inspector who examined the helicopter at the accident site, an open field was adjacent to the concrete pad and a passenger was in the helicopter when it crashed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N37870
- Reported as
- Huddleston-Bell 47G2
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 47-1965-2
- Airframe hours
- 719
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-A1D, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Perez, Santiago T.
- Registered owner
- Perez, Santiago T.
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 10, 1992 · 75 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Carolina, PR
- Destination
- X95 · Fajardo, PR
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
- 50
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 107 total · 107 in this make and model · 35 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SJU, 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 N37870 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.