- Date
- August 19, 2006, 11:55 local (17:55 UTC)
- Place
- Havre, MT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N407SHBell 407
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20060819017659A
- Case key
- 64361
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
The pilot inadvertently allowing the helicopter to enter into a vortex ring state (settling with power) condition while he was lowering a long-line load to the ground, resulting in the helicopter settling to the ground and its tail rotor impacting part of the rigging used to haul the load. Factors include the long-line load and its rigging sitting on the ground at the point where the helicopter settled to the terrain.
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, who was approaching an area where he was going to place a long-line load onto the terrain, inadvertently allowed the helicopter to enter into a vortex ring state (settling with power) condition, resulting in his inability to keep the helicopter from descending at a rate that resulted in it hitting the ground and bouncing back into the air. At the point in time when it contacted the ground with its skids, the helicopter's tail rotor impacted a portion of the rigging for the load that it had been hauling, which resulted in substantial damage to the tail rotor and the tail rotor drive shaft.
Factual narrative
The pilot, who was approaching an area where he was going to place a long-line load onto the terrain, inadvertently allowed the helicopter to enter into a vortex ring state (settling with power) condition, resulting in his inability to keep the helicopter from descending at a rate that resulted in it hitting the ground and bouncing back into the air. At the point in time when it contacted the ground with its skids, the helicopter's tail rotor impacted a portion of the rigging for the load that it had been hauling, which resulted in substantial damage to the tail rotor and the tail rotor drive shaft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N407SH
- Reported as
- Bell 407
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 53045
- Engine
- Rolls-Royce 250 C47B, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- External load · Part 133
- Operator
- Silver State Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Silver State Helicopters
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KHVR · Havre, MT
- Destination
- Havre, UT
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 1,720 total · 75 in this make and model · 100 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.