# Accident 20020521010459A: Bell 47G3B2A, Marion, AL, May 21, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 21, 2002, 10:36 local time
- Place: Marion, AL
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: YW6G
- Location: 34.1192° N, 87.9858° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1192&lon=-87.9858&mi=10
- Aircraft: N72MU, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N72MU-2013-08-22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 47G3B2A (registry code 1181025, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-47g3b2a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 47G3B2A
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL02LA102](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02LA102) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020521010459A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON MAY 21, 2002, AT 1036 CDT, A BELL 47G HELICOPTER, N72MU, REGISTERED TO AERIAL APPLICATION TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, OPERATED BY DARREL J. WARD, COLLIDED WITH A POWERLINE WHILE CONDUCTING AN AERIAL AGRICULTURAL APPLICATION FLIGHT NEAR THE EDGE OF A LAKE NEAR MARION, ALABAMA. THE PILOT STATED THAT WILE SPRAYING THE EDGE OF THE LAKE, HE LOST SIGHT OF THE POWER LINE AND DID NOT REACQUIRE VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE WIRE IN TIME TO AVOID IMPACT. THE HELICOPTER STRUCK THE WIRE AND CRASHED. ALTHOUGH THE PILOT SUFFERED NO INJURIES, THE HELICOPTER SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. (.19) ON MAY 21, 2002, AT 1036 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A BELL 47G HELICOPTER, N72MU, REGISTERED TO AERIAL APPLICATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC, AND OPERATED BY THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, COLLIDED WITH A POWER LINE WHILE CONDUCTING AN AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT NEAR THE EDGE OF A LAKE IN MARION, ALABAMA. THE AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT WAS OPERATED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 137, AND VISUAL FLIGHT RULES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE LOCAL FLIGHT. THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED, AND THE HELICOPTER SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FRO                           M MARION, ALABAMA, AT 1030. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, WHILE SPRAYING THE EDGE OF A LAKE, HE LOST VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE NEARBY POWER LINE, AND WAS UNABLE TO REACQUIRE VISUAL CONTACT. THE HELICOPTER STRUCK THE POWER LINE AS THE PILOT MANEUVERED THE HELICOPTER FOR THE SPRAY OPERATION.

## 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 ATL02LA102](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02LA102), May 21, 2002: Bell 47G (N72MU), Marion, AL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain visual lookout while conducting an aerial application maneuver. A factor was the transmission line.

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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