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FTW83IA084

1983-01-11 · HOUSTON, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport IAH

N23021 has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (NANCHANG CHINA CJ-6A), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE HELICOPTER DEVELOPED A SEVERE VIBRATION WHILE IN FLT. THE PILOT EXECUTED AN EMERGENCY LANDING WITH NO FURTHER ACFT DAMAGE. AN EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT REVEALED THAT THE WALKING BEAM ASSEMBLY LOCATED BETWEEN THE SWASH PLATE AND ROTOR PITCH LINK HAD FAILED. FRACTURING ORIGINATED AT A CORROSION PIT ON A THREAD FLANK. MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION OF THE THREADS REVEALED THAT LOCAL AREA OF CORROSION PITTING HAD OCCURRED WHERE THE SHOT PEEN BALLS HAD BEEN CONTACTING THE FLANKS OF THE THREADS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1983_FTW83IA084.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.