Bell 47G-3B-1 accident near S. Lake Tahoe, California, July 31, 1983
On July 31, 1983 at about 4:08 pm local time, a Bell 47G-3B-1 (helicopter), registered N11102, was destroyed in an accident near S. Lake Tahoe, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 31, 1983 · about 4:08 pm local time
- Place
- S. Lake Tahoe, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 47G-3B-1 · all 47G-3B-1s on the register
- Registration
- N11102 · registry record · serial 3351
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING TAKEOFF OVER DESCENDING TERRAIN IN A MOUNTAINOUS AREA, THE RPM BEGAN DECAYING WHEN THE HELICOPTER HAD ACCELERATED TO 40 KTS & WAS ABOUT 75 FT AGL. THE PLT APPLIED MORE THROTTLE & INCREASED THE COLLECTIVE, THEN NOTED THAT THE MANIFOLD PRESSURE WAS DECREASING & THE RPM CONTINUED TO DECAY. THE HELICOPTER SETTLED TO THE GROUND, ROLLED ONTO ITS LEFT SIDE & CAME TO REST INVERTED. AN EXAM REVEALED NO REASON FOR THE LOSS OF POWER. THE DENSITY ALT WAS ABOUT 8100 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
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,127 hours in all; 830 in this make and model; 109 in the last 90 days; 2,638 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,735 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, July 27, 1983; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming TVO-435-G1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 pm from TVL, 16 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.