Sikorsky S-58T accident near Page, Arizona, July 18, 1997
On July 18, 1997 at about 9:15 pm local time, a Sikorsky S-58T (helicopter), registered N47B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Page, Arizona. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under external-load helicopter rules (Part 133). 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
an engine failure resulting from the fracture of two power turbine blades, which had been previously subjected to a hot or hung start.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 18, 1997 · about 9:15 pm local time
- Place
- Page, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Sikorsky S-58T · all S-58Ts on the register
- Registration
- N47B · registry record · serial 58-530
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was hovering with an external load, when he heard a loud noise and noticed a power loss. He turned and executed a precautionary landing with a hard touchdown. The main rotor blades flexed downward and impacted the tail boom. An inspection revealed that over half of the blades in the No. 2 power section were fractured. A metallurgical examination revealed that two consecutive blades showed evidence of solutioning and re-solidification; however, the fracture surfaces did not show similar evidence of heat distress. Discoloration was also found on the power turbine wheel at a point corresponding to the location of the two blades. The operator stated that the aircraft had flown about 138 hours since all the turbine blades were replaced. None of the pilots who had flown the aircraft since then reported experiencing any hung or hot starts.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 9,996 hours in all; 4,750 in this make and model; 85 in the last 90 days; 28 in the last 30 days; 9,776 as pilot in command; 640 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 18,325 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 10, 1997; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6T-3 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PGA at 12:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:56 pm from PGA, 15 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.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 LAX97LA247.