- Date
- November 15, 1990, 12:10 local (17:10 UTC)
- Place
- Nantucket, MA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2921WBell 47-G3-B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901115050729A
- Case key
- 36759
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
A hard landing, after a power loss due to improper use of the carburetor heat control by the pilot.
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 pilot was on a positioning flight at 1000 feet AGL when he experienced a power loss due to carburetor ice. He autorotated into a large open area, making a hard landing. The main rotor struck the tail boom and there was a small post crash fire from a ruptured hydraulic line. The engine was test run satisfactorily after the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2921W
- Reported as
- Bell 47-G3-B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 6832
- Airframe hours
- 5,797
- Engine
- Lycoming TVO-435-F1A, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Firefly, Inc., doing business as Firefly, Inc
- Registered owner
- Ashley Cranberry, Enterprise
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 19, 1990 · 47 hours before
- Departed
- West Wareham, MA
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
- 34
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,500 total · 2,500 in this make and model · 4,400 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 20 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ACK, 2 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.