# Accident 19990124000749A: Hiller UH12E, Lemoore, CA, January 24, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 24, 1999, 09:00 local time
- Place: Lemoore, CA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: B8NG
- Location: 36.2901° N, 119.8205° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.2901&lon=-119.8205&mi=10
- Aircraft: N67064, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N67064-2017-06-21) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hiller UH-12E (registry code 4360122, https://openairdocs.org/model/hiller-uh-12e) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming VO-435 series (registry code 41525, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-vo-435-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HILLER UH12E
- Reported engine: LYC VO540C2A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 8,109 total, 3,121 in this make and model, 29 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99LA081](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA081) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990124000749A

## Narrative

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

ASS2 HILLER UH-12E HELICOPTER EXPERIENCED ENGINE FAILURE AND AUTO ROTATED INTO AN ALFALFA FIELD. OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN. (.19) ON JANUARY 24, 1999, AT 0945 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A HILLER UH-12E, N67064, OPERATED BY BREEN AVIATION, INC., EXPERIENCED A TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DURING AN AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT ABOUT 7 MILES NORTH OF LEMORE, CALIFORNIA. THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING IN THE UNDERLYING ROUGH FIELD, AND FOLLOWING TOUCHDOWN, THE HELICOPTER ROLLED OVER. THE HELICOPTER WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED, AND THE COMMERCIAL PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM NEAR THE FIELD ABOUT 0900. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT DURING FLIGHT THE ENGINE "SEIZED." THE HELICOPTER HAS BEEN RECOVERED. ITS ENGINE AND THE POWERTRAIN ARE BEING EXAMINED. (-23)AIRCRAFT JUST LEFT REFUEL/CHEMICAL TRUCK PLATFORM AND WAS HEADING SOUTH BOUND TO SPRAY A FIELD.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS AT APPROXIMATELY 15 FEET AGL WHEN THE ENGINE SUDDENLY STOPPED.  THE PILOT INTIIATED AN AUTOROTATION AND SLID THE AIRCRAFT ONTO THE GROUND.  THE AIRCRAFT SLID INTO AN IRRIGATION DITCH AND FLIPPED OVER CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT.  THE PILOT W          AS NOT A FACTOR. INSPECTION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THAT THE #2 ROD FAILED AT THE CRANKSHAFT END.  THE #2 PISTON AND CYLINDER SHOWED DETONATION DAMAGE.  ALL SIX PISTONS SHOWED HIGH HEAT DAMAGE.                                (.4)WHILE MANEUVERING DURING AN AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT AT 15 FEET ABOVE AN ALFALFA FIELD, THE PILOT HEARD A NOISE EMANATING FROM THE ENGINE, AND IT SEIZED.  THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING IN THE UNDERLYING SOFT FIELD, AND THE HELICOPTER ROLLED OVER AFTER TOUCHING DOWN ON THE UNEVEN TERRAIN.  MAINTENANCE RECORDS REVIEW DISCLOSED THAT THE HELICOPTER'S ENGINE HAD OPERATED ABOUT 482 HOURS SINCE BEING OVERHAULED.  THE ENGINE EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE NUMBER TWO CONNECTING ROD WAS BROKEN AT ITS CRANKSHAFT END.  ADDITIONALLY, AN INSPECTION OF THE ASSOCIATED CYLINDER AND PISTON REVEALED EVIDENCE OF DETONATION.  SIMILAR EXCESSIVE HEAT EXPOSURE SIGNATURES WERE OBSERVED WITH THE OTHER FIVE PISTON HEADS.  A SMALL HOLE WAS FOUND CHAFFED INTO THE FUEL PRIMER LINE.  CARBON DEPOSITS AND BURNED ROTOR FINGERS WERE FOUND IN BOTH MAGNETOS.

## 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 LAX99LA081](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA081), Jan 24, 1999: Hiller UH-12E (N67064), Lemoore, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The inadequate nature of the operator's maintenance, which failed to detect the primer and magneto discrepancies. An overly lean fuel mixture and/or magneto cross firing resulted in detonation, an…

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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