Moontown Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Huntsville, Alabama 35759
Saturday, March 17, 2007 9:05 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he purchased a helicopter and did not register it. During a local flight he noticed a loss in rotor rpm. He executed an autorotation, landed hard into soft mud, and nosed over. Shortly thereafter, the helicopter burst into flames and was consumed by postcrash fire. A review of the purchase agreement from the seller, signed by the purchaser revealed that the helicopter was "sold as parts." Examination of the airframe and flight control system components revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction. The examination of the engine and system components did not revealed any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction, and the loss of engine power could not be determined.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/17/2007
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 905
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Huntsville
Event State ALABAMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 35759
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 345645N
Event Location Longitude 0863154W
Event Location Airport MOONTOWN
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3M5
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 --
Airport Elevation 650
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 853 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID KHSV
Elevation of weather observation facility 629
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 9000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 40
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23835
NTSB Notification Source FAA Communication Center
NTSB Notification Date Mar 17 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 10 2009 2:14PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Birmingham FSDO-09

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N471KC
NTSB Number ATL07LA052
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name BELL
Aircraft Model 47G2A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2422
Certified Max Gross Weight 2950
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 64
Airframe Hours 8801
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Clinton J Moore
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Wauchula
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33873
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Thomas J. Gregory
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Huntsville
Operator State AL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 358066
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 No
Departure Airport Code MDQ
Departure City Huntsville
Departure State AL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 900
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 3M5
Destination City Huntsville
Destination State AL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 10 2009 2:14PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --