Bell 47G accident near Denton, Texas, May 6, 2019
On May 6, 2019 at about 3:20 pm local time, a 1992 Bell 47G (helicopter), registered N5990, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering (hover) near Denton, Texas (Denton Enterprise airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's improper decision to instruct the student pilot to establish a hover and reposition the helicopter with a tailwind, which resulted in the student pilot's loss of pitch control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 6, 2019 · about 3:20 pm local time
- Place
- Denton, Texas · Denton Enterprise · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 47G 2, built 1992 · all 47Gs on the register
- Registration
- N5990 · registry record · serial 2396
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot reported that he hovered the helicopter to the parking pad and landed with the helicopter's nose facing north. The skid placement on the parking pad was incorrect, and the flight instructor directed the student to reposition the helicopter about 3 ft to the left. The student brought the helicopter to a hover and repositioned it 3 ft to the left. However, before the student established a descent and landed, the helicopter encountered a tailwind gust. The nose pitched down, the rotor rpm decreased, and the helicopter traveled about 75 ft forward. The skids contacted the ground hard, and the helicopter came to an abrupt stop, upright and facing downslope. The main rotor blades struck the tail rotor drive shaft and the tailboom. The tail rotor gear box and the tail rotor separated from the helicopter. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail rotor drive system, the tailboom, and the main rotor blades. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The airport's METAR reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 180° at 15 knots and that the cloud layer was broken at 800 ft.
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
- Other weather encounter during maneuvering (hover)
- Loss of control in flight during maneuvering (hover) defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing
- Part(s) separation from AC during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Instructor/check pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Student/instructed pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Pitch control › Not attained/maintained
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Tailwind › Decision related to condition
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Tailwind › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 24 hours in all; 15 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 24 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 30,000 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 25,000 as pilot in command; 5,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 7, 2019
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,360.1 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 7, 2018
- Maximum gross weight: 2,450 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming VO-435-A1 (piston); 553 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DTO Denton TX at 2:00 pm
- Destination: DTO Denton TX
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 3:28 pm from KDTO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on September 4, 2019. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photo | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.