Bell 407 accident near Franklin, Louisiana, May 19, 2003
On May 19, 2003 at about 2:55 pm local time, a Bell 407 (helicopter), registered N991SP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Franklin, Louisiana. It was a public-use flight under public-use (government) rules. No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The loss of tail rotor effectiveness due to the inadequate maintenance performed by other company personnel.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 19, 2003 · about 2:55 pm local time
- Place
- Franklin, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 407 · all 407s on the register
- Registration
- N991SP · registry record · serial 53518
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight · public-use (government) rules
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
When approaching a helipad for landing, the pilot realized that the anti-torque pedals were not effective. Due to obstacles, the pilot aborted his approach to the helipad and turned eastbound toward a sugar cane field. Subsequently, the helicopter started to rotate and the pilot realized he had no control of the tail rotor with the anti torque pedals. He then rolled the throttle to idle, and initiated an autorotation from approximately 75 feet AGL. The pilot reported that a high sink rate developed and the helicopter impacted the ground hard on the main landing skids. Inspection of the helicopter revealed that the pivot bolt (P/N: NAS6604D31), bushing (P/N: 206-011-726-005), nut (P/N: MS14144l4), and cotter pin (P/N: MS24665-155), that connects the rotor control idler assembly (P/N: 406-012-127-101) to the tail rotor control housing assembly was not found. Examination of the aircraft logbooks indicated that there was an annual maintenance inspection preformed on the helicopter 7 days hours prior to the accident. The helicopter accumulated 4.9 hours of flight time since time of inspection.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 13,096 hours in all; 305 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: March 14, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 203.4 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 12, 2003; 4.9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rolls-Royce 250-C47B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BTR Baton Rouge LA at 2:00 pm
- Destination: Franklin
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW03TA156.