Event ATL91LA163

1991-08-16 WINTON, North Carolina, United States None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N1MH

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA 407

Year of manufacture

2013

TCDS

H2SW · BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA LTD

Engine

ROLLS-ROYC 250-C47B (650 hp)

Seats / Engines

8 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20130401

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A0011D

Registrant of record

FALCON AVIATION & JET SALES LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N1MH Bell 47D1 None

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S SELECTION OF UNSUITABLE TERRAIN FOR LANDING THE HELICOPTER.

Factual narrative

THE AG PILOT WAS LANDING HIS HELICOPTER ON A FIELD ROAD FOLLOWING A LOCAL FLIGHT. UPON TOUCHDOWN, THE RIGHT SKID SETTLED INTO A DITCH. A MAIN ROTOR BLADE CONTACTED THE GROUND, THEN IT STRUCK THE TAIL BOOM, SEVERING THE T/R DRIVE SHAFT. THE AIRCRAFT THEN BEGAN TO SPIN DUE TO THE LOSS OF T/R CONTROL. THE PILOT SET THE HELICOPTER DOWN WHILE STILL SPINNING, AND THE SKIDS COLLAPSED. THE HELICOPTER ROLLED ONTO ITS LEFT SIDE, AND THE PILOT EGRESSED UNINJURED. HE TRUCKED THE WRECKAGE TO HIS HOME IN ARKANSAS PRIOR TO REPORTING THE ACCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_ATL91LA163.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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