- Date
- August 11, 1988, 10:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Biddeford, ME
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N14861Bell 47G5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 24, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880811032389A
- Case key
- 36210
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 helicopter made an approach to a low hover above a hard surfaced rwy. The helicopter was slowly air taxiing when the plt felt the helicopter become unstable directionally and he considered making a run-on landing. However, before he could make the landing the pilot said 'the nose started going to the right very quickly and I attempted to accelerate carefully forward which didn't work'. The aircraft rapidly went through about 360 deg of turn before striking the ground in a level attitude. The temp at the time of the acft was 90 deg f resulting in a density alt of 2200 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N14861
- Reported as
- Bell 47G5
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 25089
- Airframe hours
- 3,236
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-B1A, 265 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Maine Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Maine Helicopter, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 8, 1988 · 4 hours before
- Departed
- PWM · Portland, ME
- Destination
- B1D
- Airport
- B19 · Biddeford, runway 06, 3,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 59
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,000 total · 430 in this make and model · 13,000 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.