Bell 412 accident near Rantoul, Illinois, August 3, 2002
On August 3, 2002, a Bell 412 (helicopter), registered N464AC, suffered minor damage in an accident near Rantoul, Illinois (Rantoul National Aviation Cent airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 10 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The congested takeoff and landing area and the low altitude flight maneuver performed by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 3, 2002
- Place
- Rantoul, Illinois · Rantoul National Aviation Cent · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 10 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 412 · all 412s on the register
- Registration
- N464AC · registry record · serial 33186
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The helicopter's main rotor blade contacted a photographer fatally injuring him. Before lift off, ground crew informed the pilot that there were four canopies in the vicinity of the takeoff area. The pilot immediately took off and began following a mowed grass area adjacent to an area of corn in which the photographer was standing in and unseen by the pilot. The pilot then executed a steep right bank turn several feet off the ground contacting the photographer with the tip of the main rotor blade.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 17,500 hours in all; 1,950 in this make and model; 130 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 16,800 as pilot in command; 8,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 2, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,207.3 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 25, 2002; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,900 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney PT6-3B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney PT6-3B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Center Helicopters, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: TIP Rantoul IL
- Destination: TIP
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,300 ft; clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 9 |
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.