- Date
- September 25, 1991, 18:30 local (Sep 26, 1991, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Rock Island, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5474ABell BH-47-G3B1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910925042949A
- Case key
- 41548
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 failure of the pilot to use the proper touchdown point while landing on a trailer.
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 hooked the acft ldg gear skid while landing on a trailer and was unable to free the skid. He abandoned the running acft, which rolled off the trailer and down an embankment. The acft was destroyed by impact and a post impact fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5474A
- Reported as
- Bell BH-47-G3B1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2898
- Engine
- Lycoming TVO-435, 270 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Richard H. Butz
- Registered owner
- Richard H. Butz
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- NONE · Rock Island, WA
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 15,000 total · 1,700 in this make and model · 40 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EAT, 6 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.