Hudson, New Hampshire – October 18, 1983
On the morning of October 18, 1983, a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter, (Reg. No. N5011N), with a lone pilot aboard, took off from Boston bound for Manchester Airport in New Hampshire. The helicopter belonged to a Boston news station, and the purpose of the trip was to retrieve video tapes of the funeral of a U. S. Marine from Nashua, New Hampshire, who’d been killed in Lebanon.
As the helicopter was passing over the town of Hudson, New Hampshire, it developed engine trouble and the pilot radioed a distress call to the Manchester control tower. He then made an emergency crash-landing in the parking lot of an apartment complex. When the aircraft hit the parking lot, it skidded for 120 feet before colliding with a dumpster and bursting into flame. The pilot did not survive.
Investigation revealed that an engine turbine blade had failed during flight.
Sources:
UPI article, “A Boston Television Station Helicopter Crashed And Burned Today”, October 18, 1983.
Aviation Safety Network, Wikibase #36342
