Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 429 — registry & accident history
Compiled from FAA & NTSB records · as of Jul 25, 2026
There are 271 Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 429 airframes on record (built 2007–2020), 101 currently registered. 7 have one or more NTSB accident records (7 records total, 4 with a fatal highest-injury classification). Data as of Jul 25, 2026.
Recent Bell Helicopter Textron Canada 429 accidents
The pilots’ inappropriate flight control inputs while in vortex ring state, which resulted in main rotor blade contact with the tail boom and a subsequent in-flight breakup. Also causal was the flight instructor’s inadequate monitoring of the flight.
The pilots overapplication of flight controls during landing, which resulted in the rotor blades contacting the wire strike protection system and subsequent hard landing.
The pilot’s failure to disengage the autopilot prior to climbing out of a fog bank.
The impact of the main rotor blades with the tail boom during low-altitude maneuvers, which severed the tail rotor drive shaft and resulted in a loss of control and impact with terrain.
The pilot's inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions resulting in spatial disorientation, loss of control, and subsequent impact with terrain.
The pilot’s overcontrolling of the helicopter during an aborted slope landing from a hover, which resulted in a main rotor blade strike.
The emergency response team's failure to ensure that the system operator was secured to the helicopter, which resulted in his fall during the recurrent rescue hoist training operation.