# Accident 19980403009429A: Bell UH1H, Wewahitchka, FL, April 3, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 3, 1998, 09:00 local time
- Place: Wewahitchka, FL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Pwr Off Vert Land/Autorotate
- Operating rules: Rotorcraft external load (Part 133)
- Location: 30.1103° N, 85.1894° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.1103&lon=-85.1894&mi=10
- Aircraft: N508DD (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BELL UH1H
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 11,000 total, 500 in this make and model, 200 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA98LA120](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA120) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980403009429A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

USING EXTERNAL LOAD BUCKET. HYDRAULICONTROL VALVE FAILED. CAUSED HARD OVER. DROPPED BUCKET. SETTLED INTO TREES. (.4) ON APRIL 3, 1998, ABOUT 0830 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A BELL UH-1H (205) HELICOPTER, N508DD, REGISTERED TO PRECISION AIR SERVICES, OPERATING AS A TITLE 14 CFR PART 133, AGRICULTURAL FLIGHT, IMPACTED WITH TREES DURING A FORCED LANDING NEAR WEWAHITCHKA, FLORIDA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE HELICOPTER WAS DESTROYED. THE COMMERCIAL-RATED PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. THE FLIGHT HAD ORIGINATED AT 0800. THE PILOT WAS ABOUT TO START AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS, AND HAD TURNED ON THE FERTILIZER BUCKET, WHEN HE REPORTED THAT THE HYDRAULIC GAUGES STARTED TO "SURGE." HE SAID THE HELICOPTER, "...THEN TOOK A VIOLENT TURN TO THE LEFT...THE HELICOPTER JERKED FOR A THIRD TIME AND CAME BACK LEVEL." HE RELEASED THE FERTILIZER BUCKET, AND ELECTED TO MAKE A FORCED LANDING. HE STATED, "...THE CONTROL WAS GOING LEFT TO RIGHT, THE COLLECTIVE WAS NOT REACTING PROPERLY, SO I SPOOLED OFF THE THROTTLE AND LANDED IN THE TREES." EXAMINATION OF THE HELICOPTER'S HYDRAULIC SYSTEM AFTER THE ACCIDENT REVEALED THAT IMPACT DAMAGE HAD DESTROYED THE SERVOS AND THE     HYDRAULIC FLUID RESERVOIR. NO DISCREPANCIES WERE FOUND WITH THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM. (-23) WHILE DISPENSING DAP FERTILIZER FROM AN EXTERNAL LOAD BUCKET, AT A LOW ALTITUDE, AN IRREVERSIBLE VALVE IN THE HYDRAULIC FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM FAILED, CAUSING A CYCLIC HARDOVER TO THE LEFT, AND MOMENTARILY RENDERING THE HELICOPTER UNCONTROLLABLE. THE PILOT MANAGED TO EJECT THE EXTERNAL LOAD BUCKET, AND LEVEL THE HELICOPTER BEFORE SETTLING INTO THE TREES. THE PILOT EVACUATED THE AIRCRAFT, THEN TURNED OFF ALL POWER AND THE ENGINE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB MIA98LA120](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA120), Apr 3, 1998: Bell 205 (N508DD), Wewahitchka, FL, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's loss of control as a result of erratic flight control movement due to a surge in hydraulic pressure for undetermined reasons.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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