FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
Back to map

ATL83FA122 · Bell 47G-2

26 Feb 1983 · Hardeeville, SC, United States

Bell 47G-2 · Accident: airframe, component or system failure while maneuvering

Show on map Search Wikipedia NTSB source dataset
Report a problem

Event

NTSB case
ATL83FA122
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
0 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Bell 47G-2

Aircraft type
Bell 47
Category
Helicopter
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N5191B
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From not recordedTo not recorded
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 137: Agricultural
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Maneuvering · aerial application
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
Airframe, component or system failure
Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
Tree(s)
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Substantial

Cause areas

  • Other maintenance personnel › Maintenance, inspection, inadequate
  • Other maintenance personnel › Maintenance, lubrication, inadequate
  • Rotor drive system, tail rotor drive shaft › Failure, total
  • Rotor drive system, tail rotor drive shaft › Overtemperature
  • Rotor drive system, tail rotor drive shaft › Worn

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

THE PLT STATED THAT HE NOTICED A PECULIAR PEDAL REACTION DURING A TURN-AROUND; HOWEVER, HE REPORTED THAT THIS MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THE WIND WHICH WAS GUSTING TO 15 KTS. SHORTLY AFTER COMPLETING THE TURN-AROUND, HE EXPERIENCED A COMPLETE LOSS OF TAIL ROTOR CONTROL. THE FAILURE WAS REALIZED BY A REDUCTION OF NOISE, AN RPM INCREASE & AYAW TO THE RIGHT. THIS OCCURRED AT AN ALTITUDE OF APRX 300 FT AGL. THE PLT WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL IN FLT, SO HE AUTOROTATED TO A NARROW LOGGING ROAD. WHILE DESCENDING TO LAND, THE MAIN ROTOR STRUCK TREES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROAD. DURING TOUCHDOWN. THE MAIN ROTOR STRUCK & SVERED THE TAIL BOOM. AN EXAM REVEALED THE TEETH ON THE FORWARD (SHORT) TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT, PN 47-644-180-9, WERE WORN & OVERHEATED. ALSO, THE MATCHING SPLINES ON THE FRONT COUPLING, PN 47-620-494-3, WERE OVERHEATED & STRIPPED. ONLY A MINIMAL AMOUNT OF LUBRICATION WAS FOUND IN THE FRONT COUPLING. THE BELL MAINTENANCE & OVERHAUL INSTRUCTIONS RECOMMENDED DAILY INSPECTIONS & LUBE EVERY 50 HRS.

Verbatim NTSB analysis from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record ATL83FA122
Event ID
20001214X42119
Case number
ATL83FA122
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: 90e79b3796a24e7b24d02a7fdb546b035333b80536531f1541f6fceb5bad19a3; retrieved 2026-09-23T22:58:27.440Z.