Bell 407 accident near Havre, Montana, August 19, 2006
On August 19, 2006 at about 5:55 pm local time, a Bell 407 (helicopter), registered N407SH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Havre, Montana. It was flown 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot inadvertently allowing the helicopter to enter into a vortex ring state (settling with power) condition while he was lowering a long-line load to the ground, resulting in the helicopter settling to the ground and its tail rotor impacting part of the rigging used to haul the load. Factors include the long-line load and its rigging sitting on the ground at the point where the helicopter settled to the terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 19, 2006 · about 5:55 pm local time
- Place
- Havre, Montana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 407 · all 407s on the register
- Registration
- N407SH · registry record · serial 53045
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot, who was approaching an area where he was going to place a long-line load onto the terrain, inadvertently allowed the helicopter to enter into a vortex ring state (settling with power) condition, resulting in his inability to keep the helicopter from descending at a rate that resulted in it hitting the ground and bouncing back into the air. At the point in time when it contacted the ground with its skids, the helicopter's tail rotor impacted a portion of the rigging for the load that it had been hauling, which resulted in substantial damage to the tail rotor and the tail rotor drive shaft.
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: instructor: helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,720 hours in all; 75 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rolls-Royce 250 C47B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KHVR Havre MT
- Destination: Havre UT
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.