Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Balm, Florida 33503
Tuesady, October 21, 2003 11:40 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The witness to the accident stated that around 1100 he had gone for a ride in the helicopter with the pilot. The ride lasted for 20 to 30 minutes and when they landed, he got out and his friend got in to go for a ride. The helicopter took off and was gone for about 15 minutes. When it returned, he was standing in front of the hangar beside another bystander. The helicopter flew by twice, once from south to north, a second time from north to south and then turned to come from west to east. As the helicopter approached, the witness estimated it was about 8 to 12 feet off the ground. He was taking pictures with a disposable camera and the bystander was filming the helicopter's flight with a video camera. The witness stated that he believed the pilot was performing a fly-by so that he and the bystander could take pictures. He further stated that he believed "the blades on top of the helicopter struck the hangar above where [the bystander] and I were standing." The bystander was "struck by something" and fell to the ground beside him. The witness then looked to the right and saw the helicopter impact a small fishing boat and pickup truck that were parked just northeast of the hangar. The helicopter came to rest nose down, partially inverted in the cavity of the boat.. The videotape recovered from the video camera depicted the helicopter maneuvering in a manner consistent with the witness's description of the event. The tape also appeared to depict the belly or skid gear of the helicopter striking the video camera and/or the person holding the camera on the final pass. Examination of the accident site indicated that the helicopter's main rotor blades impacted the eaves of the hangar immediately above the location where the witness and bystander were standing. No evidence of any pre-impact mechanical discrepancies with the airframe or engine were found that would have prevented normal operation of the helicopter. The FAA had no record of the pilot having a valid airman or medical certificate. Friends and family members of the pilot reported that he had been flying the helicopter for many years.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's intentional buzzing and his failure to maintain altitude/clearance which resulted in an in-flight collision with a building.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/21/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1140 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Balm |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33503 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 274611N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0821708W |
| 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 | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1153 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 315 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KTPA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 8 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.07 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 1 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 18011 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA SE Reg Com Ctr. |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 21 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1230 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 7 2005 10:33AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Tampa FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N73979 |
| NTSB Number | MIA04FA008 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | 47G-2A-1 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2875 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2850 |
| 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 | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Central Florida Flying Service Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO Box 246 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Balm |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33503 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Donn W Goodson |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| 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? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Balm |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1100 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| 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 | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 16 2005 11:04AM |
| User who most recently changed record | KENJ |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |