Bell 47G-B3 accident near Selma, Alabama, August 8, 1999
On August 8, 1999 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Bell 47G-B3 (helicopter), registered N6712D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Selma, Alabama (Craig Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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's failure to maintain the proper touchdown point during landing causing the landing skid to become entangled with the edge of the helipad platform and the resultant rollover and main rotor blade strike of the tow vehicle.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 8, 1999 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Selma, Alabama · Craig Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 47G-B3 · all 47G-B3s on the register
- Registration
- N6712D · no longer on the register · serial 2203
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After a test flight following maintenance, the pilot/owner was positioning the helicopter onto a trailer, (tail forward) when the right landing skid slipped off and became hooked on the edge of the landing platform. Despite full forward, left cyclic, the rotorcraft continued backward until the main rotor blades collided with the aft part of the truck. The main rotor pitch control rods were removed and shipped to the NTSB Materials Laboratory for failure analysis, and although the rods were found to possess under specification tensile strength, all damage appeared to be consistent with impact damage.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 11,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,957 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 25, 1999; 72 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison T63-700 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 102°F (39°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from MGM, 50 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.
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.