Bell 47G-4A accident near Adel, GA
On August 11, 1996, a Bell 47G-4A (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Adel, GA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 11, 1996
- Place
- Adel, GA
- Aircraft
- Bell 47G-4A · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 31.129°N, 83.421°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X06580
Official records · MIA96LA210
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On August 11, 1996, about 1115 eastern daylight time, a Bell 47G-4A, N9472G, registered to Coker Helicopter, Inc., collided with a television antenna near Adel, Georgia, while workers were attempting to hook an external line to the antenna to remove it from the tower. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. No flight plan was filed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 external lift flight. The helicopter was destroyed and the commercial-rated pilot was fatally injured. One worker on the tower received serious injuries and one worker was not injured. The flight originated from the base of the tower a few minutes before the accident. A worker who was located on the tower stated he and another worker had been lifted to the top of the tower by a 50-foot line connected to the bottom of the helicopter. They had partially unbolted the antenna at the top of the tower. The other worker was on the antenna and was attempting to connect the 50-foot line from the helicopter to the antenna, so it could be lifted from the tower. This worker had the line wrapped around the antenna. As the helicopter maneuvered above the tower, it settled down and the main rotor blades collided with the antenna and mounting pole. The main rotor separated from the helicopter and it descended uncontrolled until ground impact. The other worker's left ankle was broken when the helicopter hit the antenna. The winds were blowing steady at about 15 mph at the time of the accident and there were no gusts. Postmortem examination of the pilot was performed by Dr. Carol A. Terry, Georgia Division of Forensic S
Probable cause
the pilot's misjudgment of clearance between the helicopter and the antenna. A factor relating to the accident was the pilot's use of a drug (medication) that had sedative effects.
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Browse: Georgia · Bell aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
