Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407 accident near Stuttgart, Arkansas, November 20, 2017
On November 20, 2017, a 2015 Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407, registered N620PA, was destroyed in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Stuttgart, Arkansas. It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 3 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An in-flight loss of control due to bird strikes.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 20, 2017
- Place
- Stuttgart, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407 NO SERIES, built 2015 · all 407s on the register
- Registration
- N620PA · no longer on the register · serial 54610
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The helicopter air ambulance flight was en route to pick up a patient when company satellite tracking was lost at an altitude about 1,250 ft mean sea level. The helicopter impacted a reservoir bank and a postimpact fire consumed a majority of the fuselage. Examination of the helicopter did not reveal any anomalies with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. A postaccident examination of the wreckage found multiple bird remains, identified as snow geese, were located in the cockpit and embedded in the pilot's clothing and boot. Fragments of a night vision goggle (NVG) system near the pilot's position suggest that the pilot was using them for visual navigation; however, there was no moon illumination to enhance the NVG effectiveness, and it is unlikely that the pilot would have been able to visually detect the birds before impact. While the helicopter flight controls were continuous, it could not be determined if the bird strikes jammed the pilot's controls and/or incapacitated the pilot.
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
What happened, in order
- Birdstrike during enroute (cruise) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Animal(s)/bird(s) › Awareness of condition
- cause Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Animal(s)/bird(s) › Effect on equipment
- cause Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Animal(s)/bird(s) › Effect on personnel
- cause Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Animal(s)/bird(s) › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,000 hours in all; 214.5 in this make and model; 43.9 in the last 90 days; 14.5 in the last 30 days; 2,975.1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,055 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 17, 2017
- Maximum gross weight: 5,501 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rolls Royce 250-C-47B/8 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Air Methods CORP
The flight
- Departed from: Pines Bluff AR
- Destination: Helena AR
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 360° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.22 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 3 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N620PA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.