What happened
On Tuesday, August 12, 1997, at approximately 13:00, a Bell 47G helicopter, registration F-GCCJ, was involved in an accident at a private helisurface in Nibelle, France. The flight was a local private operation.
Following an initial landing, the pilot realized that the front section of the aircraft's skids was improperly positioned. In an attempt to correct the alignment, the pilot maneuvered the aircraft approximately one meter backward. During this movement, the pilot heard a noise coming from the tail rotor area. To avoid a nearby fence, which stood approximately 1.4 meters high, the pilot increased the aircraft's altitude. During this maneuver, the tail rotor struck a strand of barbed wire, which subsequently became wrapped around the rotor assembly. This entanglement caused the helicopter to tilt sharply to the right and crash onto the ground.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events leading to the contact between the tail rotor and the perimeter fencing. The examination established that the pilot attempted to gain altitude to clear the obstacle, but the tail rotor's path intersected with the wire.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the insufficient perception of the surrounding environment by the pilot.
- The entanglement of the tail rotor with the barbed wire led to the loss of control and the subsequent impact with the ground.
- The accident resulted in two injuries (the pilot and one passenger) and the destruction of the aircraft.