NTSB FTW91DRD05 — 1991-05-26 · SUN, Louisiana, United States

N339MC has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (CIRRUS DESIGN SR22T, built 2020), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

N339MC Bell 47-D1 None

Probable cause & findings

THE TOTAL LOSS OF POWER FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS AND THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN ROTOR RPM. A FACTOR WAS THE LACK OF SUITABLE TERRAIN.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT HAD JUST DEPARTED A LOCAL FAIR GROUNDS WITH TWO PAYING PASSENGERS ON BOARD. AT APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET, A TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER WAS EXPERIENCED. THE PILOT INITIATED A 180 DEGREE AUTOROTATION IN ORDER TO CLEAR THE POPULATED AREA. THE AVAILABLE TERRAIN FOR LANDING WAS NOT LEVEL. DURING THE TOUCHDOWN, ROTOR RPM DECREASED DUE TO THE DIFFICULTY OF CONDUCTING A SLOPE LANDING. THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES SEVERED THE TAILBOOM OF THE HELICOPTER Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_FTW91DRD05.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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