# NTSB WPR25LA173: Bell 407, N407SJ, Bountiful, UT, June 13, 2025 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: June 13, 2025, 08:40 local (14:40 UTC) - Place: Bountiful, UT - Coordinates: 40.868149, -111.92749 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.8681&lon=-111.9275&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 200327 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR25LA173 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200327/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200327 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA173 ## Probable cause The pilot’s improper decision to depart with inadequate clearance from a hangar door. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Bell 407, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=1182206), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: identification/recognition](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Bell 407, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510/cases.md?model=1182206), [All aircraft, 559 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance: airport structure](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022042): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Effect on equipment (probable cause); cases with it: [Bell 407, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022042/cases.md?model=1182206), [All aircraft, 50 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022042/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490) (defining event); cases with it: [Bell 407, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md?model=1182206), [All aircraft, 1,309 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md) ## Analysis According to the pilot, the helicopter was stored on a rolling dolly in a hangar. According to photographs provided by the pilot, when opened, the hangar door swings outward into the ramp area. When the pilot arrived at the hangar, he noticed the hangar door had been opened by another tenant of the hangar. The pilot rolled the dolly and helicopter into the ramp area, and decided to depart with the hangar door open after he estimated he had adequate clearance. The helicopter had ascended a few feet from the dolly when the main rotor blades struck the edge of the hangar door. The helicopter immediately yawed right and impacted the surface of the ramp, resulting in substantial damage to the main rotor and tailboom. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N407SJ](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N407SJ), registered now, S/N 53608, built 2004 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BELL 407 - Registry model: [Bell 407](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-407) (registry code 1182206) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rolls-Royce M250 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-m250-series) (registry code 54260, turbo-shaft) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 53608 - Year built: 2004 - Airframe hours: 2478.1 - Engines: Rolls Royce 250 C47B turbo shaft - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Operator: Limitless Society, Mark Keaton Hoskins - Registered owner: San Juan Aviation LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 27, 2024 - Departed: BTF, Bountiful, UT - Airport: BTF, Skypark Airport - Equipment: Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 44; injuries: minor; commercial, military, flight instructor; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review December 14, 2024; seat: right; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 3,173 total, 98 in this make and model, 2,374 as pilot in command, 96 in the last 90 days, 47 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 29.88 inHg - Observed at: KSLC, 6 nm away - METAR: KSLC 131454Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 24/08 A2988 RMK AO2 SLP055 T02440083 51012 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20250613015539A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250613015539A), Jun 13, 2025: Bell 407, Bountiful, UT, Substantial damage. Pilot pulled helicopter from hangar on a wheeled platform. The aircraft was placed slightly below the open hangar door. The pilot elected to relocate the… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 28, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200327. 3.6 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 1.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18921986&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=1.%206120%20Flattened_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigation photographs (item 2, PDF, 4 pages, 3 photos, 819 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18922713&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=1.%20Investigation%20Photographs-Rel.pdf - Video (item 3, MP4, 1.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18922447&FileExtension=MP4&FileName=20250618_225657000_iOS-Rel.MP4 From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.