Hard landing Accident Bell 407 N407GB,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 285392
 
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Date:Monday 22 December 2008
Time:16:04 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic B407 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Bell 407
Owner/operator:JBI Helicopter Services, Inc.
Registration: N407GB
MSN: 53584
Year of manufacture:2003
Total airframe hrs:889 hours
Engine model:Rolls-Royce 250-C47B
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Bow, New Hampshire -   United States of America
Phase: En route
Nature:Ferry/positioning
Departure airport:Danielson Airport, CT (KLZD)
Destination airport:Pembroke, NH (NH33)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
Two days before the accident, the helicopter landed at an airport due to en route snow. On the day of the accident, company personnel spent about 5 hours cleaning and deicing it. The pilot subsequently conducted multiple ground and air taxi runs before departing toward his home heliport. About 45 minutes into the flight, when the helicopter was about 900 feet over tree-covered terrain, the engine lost power. The pilot then performed an approximately 180-degree autorotation to a curved street. The helicopter landed hard and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. Prior to the loss of engine power, the pilot did not observe any caution or warning lights, and the FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) remained in the automatic mode. The pilot also noted no unusual noises or yawing of the helicopter prior to the loss of engine power. A subsequent download of the helicopter's incident recorder revealed "Engine Flameout," "Nr Droop," and "Ng Exceedance Low" faults. It also indicated that when the flameout detection occurred, "Fuel Enable" and "Auto Relight" functions became active. Subsequent examinations of the airframe, including the fuel supply system, revealed no anomalies that would have resulted in a flameout. The electronic control unit was downloaded, with no faults noted. The electronic control unit and the hydro mechanical unit were examined with no anomalies noted. The engine was mounted in a test cell and successfully run with no discrepancies noted. During a later engine test run, the fuel was intentionally shut off through a solenoid, and except for rotor rpm, the incident recorder indicated the same faults as noted in the accident sequence, confirming that the loss of engine power likely occurred due to an interruption of fuel flow for undetermined reasons.

Probable Cause: An interruption of fuel flow for undetermined reasons, which resulted in an engine flameout.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: ERA09LA105
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 12 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB ERA09LA105

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
02-Oct-2022 09:09 ASN Update Bot Added

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