Bell 47G-2A accident near Covington, Tennessee, July 17, 2000
On July 17, 2000 at about 7:22 pm local time, a Bell 47G-2A (helicopter), registered N818HJ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Covington, Tennessee. 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 pilot allowed the helicopter to get too low while hovering, which resulted in the tail rotor striking the ground, the separation of the blade, and subsequent force landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 17, 2000 · about 7:22 pm local time
- Place
- Covington, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 47G-2A · all 47G-2As on the register
- Registration
- N818HJ · no longer on the register · serial 2764
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While at hover, about 15 to 20 feet above a field, at an indicated airspeed of about 20 knots, the pilot heard a 'bang' and the helicopter began to vibrate. The tail of the helicopter started coming around, so the pilot elected to set the helicopter down on the ground. When he landed, the main and tail rotor hit the ground. According to the FAA inspector's report, '...the tailskid may have touched down at a point 123 feet from where the rotorcraft impacted the ground,' at a location in the field where about 20 feet of cotton stalks were found to have been pulled up or cut. The damaged tail rotor and yoke were shipped to Bell Helicopter for metallurgical inspection. The inspection revealed there was no evidence of fatigue cracking on the surface of the separated blade. The separation was an overload failure. The damage to both the separated blade and the complete blade was consistent with a tail rotor blade strike. The pilot reported that he had 15 flight hours in this make and model helicopter.
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: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 14,500 hours in all; 15 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 11,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,199 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 2,450 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming VO-435-A1E (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:23 pm from MEM, 48 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 N818HJ 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.