ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 133136
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| Date: | Wednesday 1 February 1995 |
| Time: | 16:00 LT |
| Type: |  Bell 47G-4A |
| Owner/operator: | Smith Helicopters, Inc. |
| Registration: | N6SR |
| MSN: | 7516 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1966 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 15926 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming VO-540-B1B3 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | El Indio, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
THE HELICOPTER, BEING USED FOR PREDATOR CONTROL, WAS 25 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND AND WAS CHASING A BOBCAT. THE PILOT SAID A RIGHT QUARTERING TAILWIND GUST CAUSED THE HELICOPTER TO LOSE TAIL ROTOR EFFECTIVENESS AND IT BEGAN SPINNING TO THE RIGHT. THE PILOT INCREASED COLLECTIVE AND THROTTLE IN AN ATTEMPT TO REGAIN AIRSPEED, BUT THIS CAUSED THE MAIN ROTOR RPM TO DROOP AND ALTITUDE WAS INSUFFICIENT TO ALLOW THE HELICOPTER TO REGAIN AIRSPEED BY LOWERING THE NOSE. THE PILOT THEN REDUCED COLLECTIVE TO REGAIN RPM, BUT THE HELICOPTER CONTINUED TO SPIN AND IMPACTED THE TERRAIN.
Probable Cause: THE LOSS OF TAIL ROTOR EFFECTIVENESS. A FACTOR WAS THE GUSTY RIGHT QUARTERING TAILWIND.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB FTW95LA105
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 3 October 1995 | N6SR | Smith Helicopters Inc. | 0 | Edinburg, TX | |
sub |
| 25 May 2002 | N6SR | Ismeal Nieves | 1 | Yauco |  |
w/o |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Dec-2016 19:25 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 09-Apr-2024 16:49 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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