Bell 47G-4A accident near Shafter, California, June 14, 1998
On June 14, 1998 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Bell 47G-4A (helicopter), registered N110DT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Shafter, California (Shafter-Minter airport). It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 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 aircraft's encounter with settling with power, which resulted from the pilot's decision to perform a steep downwind approach.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 14, 1998 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Shafter, California · Shafter-Minter · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 47G-4A · all 47G-4As on the register
- Registration
- N110DT · registry record · serial 7631
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he made a steep downwind approach to the landing pad and the helicopter entered into settling with power (vortex ring state). He reported that he was at too low an altitude to recover and the helicopter impacted the terrain about 500 feet west of the intended landing zone. The main rotor blades severed the tail boom. The pilot reported that he had not experienced any mechanical malfunction with the helicopter prior to the accident, but stated that he should have made a shallower approach.
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
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 7,000 hours in all; 6,000 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 6,940 as pilot in command; 348 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,903 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 17, 1998; 98 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming VO-540-B1B3 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MIT Shafter CA at 10:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:56 pm from BFL, 10 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.
Other NTSB records under N110DT the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.