Bell 47G-2 incident near Miami, Florida, June 17, 1987
On June 17, 1987 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Bell 47G-2 (helicopter), registered N17271, suffered minor damage in an incident near Miami, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. 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 incident. 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
- June 17, 1987 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 47G-2 · all 47G-2s on the register
- Registration
- N17271 · no longer on the register · serial 221
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE IN CRUISE FLT AT APRX 300 FT THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE HEARD A LOUD NOISE FOLLOWED BY A LOSS OF POWER. HE THEN AUTOROTATED & SET THE HELICOPTER DOWN WITH NO FURTHER INCIDENT. INSP OF THE ENG REVEALED THAT THE NUMBER 6 CYLINDER CONNECTING ROD FAILED NEAR THE WRIST PIN DUE TO A FATIGUE FRACTURE, RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF POWER.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 8,305 hours in all; 7,600 in this make and model; 104 in the last 90 days; 8,135 as pilot in command; 4,198 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,648 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 24, 1987; 93 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Franklin 6V4 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Gold Coast Helicopter,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: North Miami FL at 7:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 pm from MIA, 20 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.
Other NTSB records under N17271 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.