{"airworthiness_class":"","airworthiness_date":"","airworthiness_ops":"","category":"conventional","cert_issue_date":"1997-07-24","city":"BAKERSFIELD","country_code":"US","county_code":"029","cruise_speed_mph":112,"data_date":"2026-10-02","documents":[],"eng_mfr_mdl":"","engine_horsepower":null,"engine_maker":"","engine_model":"","engine_thrust_lb":null,"expiration_date":"2027-10-31","fractional_owner":0,"is_company":1,"is_electric":0,"is_unmanned_cert":0,"kind":"helicopters","kit_mfr":"","kit_model":"","last_action_date":"2023-03-24","maker":"Bell","maker_country":null,"maker_raw":"BELL","maker_segment":null,"mfr_mdl_code":"1181579","mode_s_code":"51425175","mode_s_hex":"A62A7D","model":"OH-58A","n_number":"N497E","name":"KERN COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT","ntsb_checked":true,"ntsb_records":[{"city":"Tehachapi","damage":"SUBS","date":"2014-03-27","highest_injury":"NONE","ntsb_no":"WPR14TA149","probable_cause":"The pilot's decision to attempt a mission at night with known en route weather conditions below operating minimums, likely due to self-induced pressure, and then continue flight beyond the alternate landing airport as weather conditions deteriorated, which resulted in the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's fatigue, his failure to recognize that mist had formed on the inner surface of the windshield, his complacency due to the effectiveness of the night vision goggles, and his failure to use the radar altimeter.","registration":"N497E","state":"CA","summary":"Accident on March 27, 2014 at Tehachapi, CA: no injuries, substantial damage.","type":"ACC"}],"num_engines":1,"other_names":"","plain_english":"N497E is a Bell OH-58A, a rotorcraft with turboshaft engines (a helicopter or multicopter). It has 4 seats. It is registered to Kern County Sheriffs Department, a government body in Bakersfield, California. The registration is valid: it was issued on July 24, 1997 and expires on October 31, 2027. No airworthiness certificate is on file, which is normal for drones and for aircraft still being built or tested.","records_check":[{"finding":"Valid registration to Kern County Sheriffs Department, a government body, certificate issued July 24, 1997, expires October 31, 2027. No fractional interest recorded.","item":"Registration and identity","source":1,"status":"CLEAR"},{"finding":"No airworthiness certificate is on file. Usual for a newly registered aircraft, a project, or an aircraft that has not flown since a change of registration; ask for the certificate.","item":"Airworthiness certificate","source":1,"status":"ATTENTION"},{"finding":"No earlier tail number is recorded against serial 69-16375 for this model in the deregistered file.","item":"Prior registrations of this airframe","source":2,"status":"CLEAR"},{"finding":"No other airframe has carried N497E according to the deregistered file.","item":"Tail number reuse","source":2,"status":"CLEAR"},{"finding":"No bills of sale, loans or releases have reached the registry in recent weeks. The index covers only recent filings; older liens are in the records file.","item":"Recent registry documents","source":3,"status":"NOTE"},{"finding":"1 NTSB record under N497E: Accident on March 27, 2014 at Tehachapi, CA: no injuries, substantial damage. Details below.","item":"Accident and incident record","source":4,"status":"ATTENTION"},{"finding":"These live in the FAA aircraft records file (every document ever filed against the aircraft) and, for larger aircraft, the International Registry. Part of the full report.","item":"Title chain, liens and 337 forms","source":null,"status":"PENDING"},{"finding":"AD compliance against the logbooks and flight-activity reconciliation are researched layers of the full report.","item":"Airworthiness directives and utilization","source":null,"status":"PENDING"}],"records_check_sources":[{"n":1,"name":"FAA Releasable Aircraft Database, master file","url":"https://registry.faa.gov/"},{"n":2,"name":"FAA deregistered aircraft file (part of the same download)","url":"https://registry.faa.gov/"},{"n":3,"name":"FAA document index: registry documents received in recent weeks","url":"https://registry.faa.gov/"},{"n":4,"name":"NTSB aviation accident database (CAROL)","url":"https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search"}],"region":"Western-Pacific","region_code":"4","registrant_type":"Government","registrant_type_code":"5","seats":4,"serial_number":"69-16375","source":"FAA Civil Aviation Registry, Releasable Aircraft Database","state":"CA","status":"Valid registration","status_code":"V","status_short":"Valid","street":"1350 NORRIS RD","street2":"","type_aircraft":"Rotorcraft","type_aircraft_code":"6","type_engine":"Turboshaft","type_engine_code":"3","unique_id":"00246651","url":"https://eflight.com/aircraft/N497E","watchlist_group":null,"watchlist_note":null,"weight_class":"","year_mfr":null,"zip":"933082231"}