# Accident 20030731016819A: Bell OH13EM74, Tulare County, CA, July 31, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 31, 2003, 07:30 local time
- Place: Tulare County, CA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: O18G
- Location: 36.2202° N, 118.8005° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Tulare County, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.2202&lon=-118.8005&mi=10
- Aircraft: N51852, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N51852) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Texas Helicopter OH-13E/M74 (registry code 8930103, https://openairdocs.org/model/texas-helicopter-oh-13e-m74) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL OH13EM74
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 4,250 total, 4,000 in this make and model, 270 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030731016819A

## Narrative

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

(-23) MR. JAMES J. COSTA JR., ACTING AS PILOT IN COMMAND OF A WASP HELICOPTER, N51852, WAS ENGAGED IN AERIAL AGRICULTURAL APPLICATION OF A FIELD WEST OF AND ADJACENT TO ROAD 176, NORTH OF AVE. 160 IN TULARE COUNTY, CA, AT APPROXIMATELY 0730 HOURS. WHILE DESCENDING OVER POWER LINES ALONG ROAD 176 TOWARD THE FIELD THE HELICOPTER STRUCK A SINGLE POWER TRANSMISSION LINE, WHICH WAS SEVEN TO EIGHT FEET ABOVE THE LOWER THREE SETS OF POWER LINES. MR. COSTA HAD NOT SEEN THE HIGHER POWER LINE (66,000 VOLTS) DURING HIS RECONNAISSANCE PRIOR TO APPLICATION. THE HELICOPTER STRUCK THE POWER LINE ABOVE THE LEFT SKID, APPROXIMATELY A FOOT ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE COCKPIT FLOOR. THE HELICOPTER SLID SEVERAL FEET ALONG THE POWER LINE TO THE END OF ITS ELASTICITY AND IT BROUGHT THE HELICOPTER VERTICALLY DOWN WHERE IT IMPACTED THE GROUND UPRIGHT AND LEFT SKID LOW. THE ROTOR SYSTEM STRUCK THE GROUND IN TWO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AND SEPARATED FROM THE HELICOPTER COMING TO REST SOME THIRTY FEET NORTHEAST OF THE HELICOPTER. THERE WAS NO RUPTURE OF THE FUEL SYSTEM AND NO FIRE, ALTHOUGH THE HELICOPTER WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. THE PILOT RECEIVED A CUT ON HIS BACK, MIDDLE, LEFT SIDE AND CONSIDERABLE BRUISING. THERE WERE NO OTHER INJURIES.

## NTSB investigation

None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search

## Other reports on N51852 (2)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19961008031269A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19961008031269A), Oct 8, 1996: Bell OH13EM74 (N51852), Salinas, CA, Destroyed. Pilot attempted to takeoff with chemical hose apparatus still attached.
- [Accident 19940831024459A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19940831024459A), Aug 31, 1994: Bell OH13EM74 (N51852), Salinas, CA, Substantial damage. Ran out of fuel returning to fuel truck after spray assignment. Severed tailboom on hard forced landing.

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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