20190504003939A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Bell 206B · Oxnard, CA · May 4, 2019

Date
May 4, 2019 · 09:55 local
Place
Oxnard, CA
Phase of flight
Maneuver
Operating rules
Agricultural (Part 137)
Operator
RONG
Damage
Destroyed
Aircraft
N49643
NTSB investigation
NTSBWPR19LA135
Reported as
Bell 206B
Reported engine
Allison 250-C20 series
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificates
Commercial pilot, flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours
2,561 total2,561 in this make and model259 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

On may 4, 2019 N49643 s/n 1813, Bell helicopter 206B was equipted with agricultural equiptment (isolair model 3900 agricultural spray system). The tanks were placed on both sides of the fuselage and were filled with white wash type paint inorder to paint greenhouse roofs. The pilot had previously performed two white washing jobs and on the third white wash greenhouse roof near the intersection of victoria avenue and gonzalas road in Oxnard California the pilot was to spray four loads on the green house roofs, on the first load the pilot had noticed that the aircraft was flying right side low which made the pilot think that the right side tank was still full of paint and did not disperse properly and created an inbalance and center of gravity problem. The pilot proceeded to fly away from the green houses to dump the remaining paint from the tanks but that only increased the center of gravity problem causing the aircraft to roll to the right and spiral to the ground.

As the FAA filed it

ON MAY 4, 2019 N49643 S/N 1813, BELL HELICOPTER 206B WAS EQUIPTED WITH AGRICULTURAL EQUIPTMENT (ISOLAIR MODEL 3900 AGRICULTURAL SPRAY SYSTEM). THE TANKS WERE PLACED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE FUSELAGE AND WERE FILLED WITH WHITE WASH TYPE PAINT INORDER TO PAINT GREENHOUSE ROOFS. THE PILOT HAD PREVIOUSLY PERFORMED TWO WHITE WASHING JOBS AND ON THE THIRD WHITE WASH GREENHOUSE ROOF NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF VICTORIA AVENUE AND GONZALAS ROAD IN OXNARD CALIFORNIA THE PILOT WAS TO SPRAY FOUR LOADS ON THE GREEN HOUSE ROOFS, ON THE FIRST LOAD THE PILOT HAD NOTICED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS FLYING RIGHT SIDE LOW WHICH MADE THE PILOT THINK THAT THE RIGHT SIDE TANK WAS STILL FULL OF PAINT AND DID NOT DISPERSE PROPERLY AND CREATED AN INBALANCE AND CENTER OF GRAVITY PROBLEM. THE PILOT PROCEEDED TO FLY AWAY FROM THE GREEN HOUSES TO DUMP THE REMAINING PAINT FROM THE TANKS BUT THAT ONLY INCREASED THE CENTER OF GRAVITY PROBLEM CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO ROLL TO THE RIGHT AND SPIRAL TO THE GROUND.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

Other reports on N49643 · 2

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