Bell 407 accident near Bountiful, Utah, June 13, 2025
On June 13, 2025 at about 2:40 pm local time, a 2004 Bell 407 (helicopter), registered N407SJ, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Bountiful, Utah (Skypark Airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s improper decision to depart with inadequate clearance from a hangar door, resulting in the helicopter’s collision with the door.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 13, 2025 · about 2:40 pm local time
- Place
- Bountiful, Utah · Skypark Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 407, built 2004 · all 407s on the register
- Registration
- N407SJ · registry record · serial 53608
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, the helicopter was stored on a rolling dolly in a hangar. According to photographs provided by the pilot, when opened, the hangar door swings outward into the ramp area. When the pilot arrived at the hangar, he noticed another other hangar tenant had previously opened the hangar door and parked her car in the doorway. After the pilot rolled the dolly and helicopter into the ramp area, he asked the other tenant to move her car so he could close the hangar door, but she declined to do so. The pilot estimated he had adequate clearance from the end of the open hangar door and proceeded to start the helicopter and lift off the dolly. The helicopter had ascended a few feet from the dolly when the main rotor blades struck the edge of the hangar door. The helicopter immediately yawed right and impacted the surface of the ramp, resulting in substantial damage to the main rotor and tailboom. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
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
What happened, in order
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Airport structure › Effect on equipment
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot, military
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,173 hours in all; 98 in this make and model; 96 in the last 90 days; 47 in the last 30 days; 2,374 as pilot in command; 565 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 14, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,478.1 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 27, 2024
- Maximum gross weight: 5,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rolls Royce 250 C47B (turboshaft); 2,478 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BTF Bountiful UT at 2:40 pm
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 8:54 am from KSLC, 6 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KSLC 131454Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 24/08 A2988 RMK AO2 SLP055 T02440083 51012
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 3 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – The helicopter viewed from forward.
Photograph 2 – The helicopter viewed from forward.
Photograph 3 – The helicopter viewed from aft.The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on August 28, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigation Photographs | PDF, 4 pages · our copy | View Download |
| 3 | Video | video | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.