Bell 407 accident near Inyokern, California, September 21, 2005
On September 21, 2005 at about 5:07 pm local time, a Bell 407 (helicopter), registered N702WP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Inyokern, California (Inyokern airport). It was a public-use flight (local) under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot failed to maintain tail rotor clearance from obstacles during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 21, 2005 · about 5:07 pm local time
- Place
- Inyokern, California · Inyokern · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 407 · all 407s on the register
- Registration
- N702WP · no longer on the register · serial 53543
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight (local) · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The helicopter's tail rotor struck a rock outcropping during a confined landing at a remote mountain site. The pilot was moving two surveyors up the side of the southern slope of a mountain canyon. He dropped the surveyors off at a small saddle on a ridge, and departed to locate the next site upslope. He found a rocky outcropping that he thought would be a good landing site, and made one approach, but did not like the location due to uneven terrain. He then hovered over to another site a few yards away and proceeded to land. During the landing the tail rotor made contact with a small rock outcropping. Feeling the contact he proceeded to execute a successful autorotative landing from a hover.
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: single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 15,800 hours in all; 800 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 13,600 as pilot in command; 1,431 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,498.1 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 1, 2005; 19 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,250 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rolls-Royce C-47B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KVNY Van Nuys CA at 1:30 pm
- Destination: KIKY Inyokern CA
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 800 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observation at 4:56 pm from KNID, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.