- Date
- May 15, 1983, 07:45 local (12:45 UTC)
- Place
- Plainsboro, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N6597DBell 47G
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830515019739A
- Case key
- 35105
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 acft collided with the ground after a tail rotor drive shaft failed. The plt lost tail rotor control during an aerial application maneuver. The metallurgist report of examination and discovery of fatigue fracture after the accident is a part of the factual report. The shaft that failed is p/n 47644179-9.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6597D
- Reported as
- Bell 47G
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1017
- Airframe hours
- 7,400
- Engine
- Franklin 60-350-A, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Agricultural Helicopter
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 6, 1983 · 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
- 46
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10,500 total · 8,500 in this make and model · 10,500 as pilot in command · 80 in the last 90 days · 140 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 64 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.