Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Saluda, South Carolina 29138
Friday, September 19, 1997 14:10 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On the day of the accident, the pilot/owner of a helicopter (hel) arrived at the airport with the hel on a flatbed trailer. A CFI was to fly with the owner & give him instruction to eventually obtain a hel rating. There were no witnesses to the pre-flight, takeoff, or flight. Some people at the airport, who knew the CFI, were aware that he was going to provide instruction to the owner. They also had knowledge that the owner had very little flight time in the hel, and that instruction would include basics of hel instruction, including hovering & autorotations. Two watches, found in the wreckage, were stopped at 1410. About 1520, the local fire department was notified of a fire located about 1 mile northeast of the airport. The hel was found in a heavily wooded area, consumed by fire. Also, there was a tree near the hel wreckage, which was found broken. No other broken trees were found in the area. All the parts of the hel were found within the impact area. The tachometer was found in the wreckage with the face destroyed by heat damage, rendering the numbers unreadable. However, the needles were still in place & were split with the smaller needle (rotor) about 45 degree split from the large needle (engine). Examination of the wreckage, including partial teardown of the engine & teardown of the transmission, did not reveal any discrepancies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

in-flight collision with a tree, for undetermined reason(s).

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/19/1997
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1410
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City SALUDA
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29138
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 320
Airport Elevation 555
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1456 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 80
Weather Observation Facility ID CAE
Elevation of weather observation facility 236
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 45
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 33
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1312
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 19 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1620
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:34PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N70747
NTSB Number MIA97FA248
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Bell
Aircraft Model 47G
Aircraft Series Identifier 47G
Aircraft Serial Number 1329
Certified Max Gross Weight 2350
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 3
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name TOMMY J. BASSETT
Aircraft Owner Street Address POB 171
Aircraft Owner City COWARTS
Aircraft Owner State AL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 36321
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 6J4
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Unknown
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --