Bell 205A-1 accident near Grove Hill, Alabama, March 21, 1996
On March 21, 1996 at about 8:10 pm local time, a Bell 205A-1 (helicopter), registered N68HJ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Grove Hill, Alabama. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under external-load helicopter rules (Part 133). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
fatigue failure of the vertical fin forward spar in an area that was not accessible to inspection. A factor relating to the accident was: guidance for inspection of the area (where the fatigue occurred) was insufficiently defined by the manufacturer.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 21, 1996 · about 8:10 pm local time
- Place
- Grove Hill, Alabama · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 205A-1 · all 205A-1s on the register
- Registration
- N68HJ · registry record · serial 30154
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During an external lift operation to pick up a fertilizer bucket, the vertical fin separated from the tail boom. The helicopter rotated to the right, and the pilot tried to move away from obstacles. The tail boom struck the ground and separated from the fuselage, while the helicopter was still rotating to the right. The main rotor blades hit a tree and the helicopter came to rest on the ground on its left side. Investigation revealed a fatigue fracture through a rivet hole of the vertical fin forward spar. An inspection of this area was signed off the day prior to the accident. However, examination of the wreckage, and a sister ship, revealed that the fracture location could not be observed during normal inspections because of other structure. One airworthiness directive (AD), and service bulletins issued by the manufacturer, addressed vertical fin spar cracks, but none applied to this ship. The AD required removal of the rivet, where the fatigue fracture initiated, to facilitate inspection of the rivet hole. The inspection was no longer required after compliance with a service bulletin that modified the spar. This helicopter was modified during its original manufacture.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 9,500 hours in all; 677 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 9,478 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,022 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 20, 1996; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,200 lb
- Seats: 15
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming T53-13B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: NONE at 8:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 9 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from MGM, 185 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.