Bell BH-47G2 accident near Laredo, Texas, April 4, 1997
On April 4, 1997, a Bell BH-47G2 (helicopter), registered N90485, was substantially damaged in an accident near Laredo, Texas (Laredo International airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain alignment while landing on a stationary trailer. A factor was the pilot's lack of experience in trailer landing operations.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 4, 1997
- Place
- Laredo, Texas · Laredo International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell BH-47G2
- Registration
- N90485 · registry record · serial 696
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was in the process of purchasing the helicopter from a business located at the airport. After a successful acceptance flight earlier that morning, the pilot landed the helicopter on the ramp, shut down, and finalized the deal. He had driven a trailer to the airport to transport the helicopter back to Louisiana after the purchase. The pilot stated that he descended slowly down to the trailer platform, positioning the left skid as close to the left rail as possible. Upon touch down, the helicopter slid about 1 inch to the right, but the left skid looked square to the left rail. As the pilot lowered the collective, he felt the helicopter drifting to the right skid and applied power and left lateral cyclic to arrest the drift. Subsequently, the craft banked sharply to the left and the rotor blades struck the ground. As the helicopter rolled to the left, the tail boom was severed. According to the pilot, this was the first time that he had landed on a stationary trailer. A FAA inspector reported that the width of the trailer was about 4 inches wider than the helicopter's landing skids.
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, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 278 hours in all; 83 in this make and model; 27 in the last 90 days; 27 in the last 30 days; 214 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,082 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 1997; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,450 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming VO-435-A1F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LRD
- Destination: LRD
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N90485 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 FTW97LA150.