- Date
- June 29, 1992, 08:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Wenatchee, WA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N17301Bell-World 47D1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920629039189A
- Case key
- 42845
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
Carburetor ice and the pilot in command's not being able to maintain clearance. Factors contributing to the accident were: carburetor icing conditions and tree(s).
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
While transitioning from a hover to forward flight the pilot encountered decaying RPM and attempted to execute an emergency landing. During the landing, the tailboom impacted a tree. The pilot reported that he suspected carburetor icing as the cause of the power loss. The accident occurred at an elevation approximately 1000 feet higher than the Wenatchee airport which lies 5 miles northeast. The surface weather observation at the airport taken 15 minutes before the accident recorded a 63/59 degree temperature/dew point with broken/overcast ceilings. The base ceiling (broken) was reported at 1800 feet above the airport elevation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N17301
- Reported as
- Bell-World 47D1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- WH5016
- Airframe hours
- 1,915
- Engine
- Franklin GV335AB, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Powder River Helicopters Inc.
- Registered owner
- Powder River Helicopters Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · May 24, 1992 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- Malaga, 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
- 38
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 181 total · 71 in this make and model · 125 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,800 ft broken
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EAT, 5 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.
Other investigations on N17301 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.