Allensworth Baby Belle accident near El Dara, IL
On August 28, 2005, an Allensworth Baby Belle (helicopter) was involved in an accident near El Dara, IL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 28, 2005
- Place
- El Dara, IL
- Aircraft
- Allensworth Baby Belle · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 39.639°N, 90.779°W
- NTSB ID
- 20050829X01319
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 28, 2005, at 0915 central daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Allensworth Baby Belle helicopter, N9094P, collided with a tree and the terrain following an in-flight separation of a tail rotor blade in El Dara, Illinois. Witnesses reported hearing the engine running rough followed by a loss of engine power just prior to the impact. The pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was destroyed by impact and post impact fire. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The local flight originated from a private farm field in New Canton, Illinois, at about 0900. The pilot kept the helicopter on his property in New Canton. His wife stated was going to fly to El Dara to check on the crops. She stated that he usually flew at an altitude of about 400 feet above ground level (agl). There were four known witnesses to the accident. One of the witnesses stated he saw the helicopter flying east-southeast. He stated he then heard what sounded like the engine sputtering and the helicopter made two or three 360 degree turns prior to nose-diving toward the ground. A second witness reported seeing the helicopter flying to the southeast. This witness reported hearing the "engine cut out" followed by the sound of an impact. The third witness reported seeing the helicopter flying low to the ground. This witness reported the engine suddenly quit running and the helicopter started spinning prior to contacting the ground. The fourth witness stated the helicopter was flying 150
Probable cause
The manufacturer failed to specify a relief radius on the tail rotor spindle drawings, which resulted in the spindle being manufactured with an inadequate relief radius at the point of fatigue failure.
More accidents in IL
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Browse: Illinois
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
