On August 1, 2023, about 1530 eastern daylight time, a Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 407, N31PB, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near North Charleston, South Carolina. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was operated as a public aircraft. The helicopter, operated by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, was on a positioning flight from Sumter Airport (SMS), Sumter, South Carolina, to Charleston AFB International Airport (CHS), North Charleston, South Carolina. The pilot reported that, after about 35 minutes of flight, the helicopter started to yaw slowly to the right. The pilot applied left pedal with no response. The pilot stated, “It felt as if the pedals were not attached.” He contacted CHS tower and declared an emergency. He set up for a straight-in approach to runway 15. While crossing the runway threshold, about 20 ft above ground level, the helicopter started to yaw to the right. He lowered the collective, but the helicopter continued to yaw right. He then reduced the throttle and attempted to maintain a level attitude. The helicopter struck the ground adjacent to runway 15 at a high rate of descent, coming to rest in the grass. The tail rotor boom severed during the impact sequence. Inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded to the accident site and examined the wreckage. They confirmed substantial damage to the fuselage, main rotor system, and tail rotor system. They found 1 of the 2 bolts that secured the tail rotor pitch change lever assembly was missing (Photo 1). The lever assembly was disconnected from the trunnion. The other bolt that connected the levers to the rod assembly was in place, but loose; the cotter pin for its attachment nut was missing (Photo 2).
Photo 1: Tail rotor Pitch Change Lever Assembly. Red arrow points to area of missing bolt.
Photo 2: Pitch Change Lever Assembly. Red arrow points to loose nut on bolt; cotter pin was missing.
A review of the maintenance records by FAA inspectors revealed that a 300 hour/3 month inspection was performed on the helicopter on June 28, 2023. The helicopter had been flown about 15.4 hours since this inspection. According to Bell Helicopter technical support personnel, the inspection/lubrication procedure that was accomplished on June 28 would not require removal of the lever assembly bolts; however, the nuts and bolts should have been clearly visible during the inspection of the area. The mechanic who performed the inspection stated that he must have overlooked them.