Summary
On January 22, 2020, a Bell 407 (N947LH) was involved in an incident near Minot, ND. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from fencing around the landing pad during landing, which resulted in the tail rotor contacting the fence.
On January 22, 2019, about 1332 central standard time, a Bell 407 helicopter, N947LH, impacted a helipad perimeter fence during a landing near Minot, North Dakota. The pilot, sole occupant was not injured, and the helicopter sustained substantial damage. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Executive Air Taxi Corp under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a positioning flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight. The pilot conducted a flight to the Trinity Medical Helipad (2ND4) to pick up the medical crew. The pilot stated he performed a right 180° circling approach to the helipad.
This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN20LA068. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N947LH.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from fencing around the landing pad during landing, which resulted in the tail rotor contacting the fence.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On January 22, 2019, about 1332 central standard time, a Bell 407 helicopter, N947LH, impacted a helipad perimeter fence during a landing near Minot, North Dakota. The pilot, sole occupant was not injured, and the helicopter sustained substantial damage. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Executive Air Taxi Corp under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a positioning flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight.
The pilot conducted a flight to the Trinity Medical Helipad (2ND4) to pick up the medical crew. The pilot stated he performed a right 180° circling approach to the helipad. As he finished the turn, he thought he was a little low on final approach and "pulled in a little collective." He applied more collective as he was leveling off and the "helicopter contacted the pad firmly." The pilot added that it was firmer than a normal landing, but he thought everything was okay until he noticed a small vibration.
Before departing with the medical crew, the pilot still felt the vibration in the helicopter, so he shut the helicopter down to check. After shutdown, the crew walked toward the tail and noticed a slight bend in the lower vertical fin, the tips of both tail rotor blades missing, and the helipad safety fence was missing a small section of the fence-edge pipe.
Additional examination of the helicopter identified cracks in the tailboom structure.
A review of security camera video of the helipad showed the helicopter's tail rotor impact with the edge-fencing.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CEN20LA068