20220401001759A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Bell OH-58A · Merced, CA · April 1, 2022

Date
April 1, 2022 · 13:00 local
Place
Merced, CA
Phase of flight
Climb
Operating rules
Agricultural (Part 137)
Operator
WITG
Damage
Destroyed
Aircraft
N9287U
NTSB investigation
NTSBWPR22LA140
Reported as
Bell OH-58A
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
1
Pilot’s certificate
Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
2,336 total1,243 in this make and model

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.

Helicopter struck power line during an ag dispersal flight. One wire was cut, but second wire miss the wire cutter causing the helicopter to crash and was destroyed.

As the FAA filed it

HELICOPTER STRUCK POWER LINE DURING AN AG DISPERSAL FLIGHT. ONE WIRE WAS CUT, BUT SECOND WIRE MISS THE WIRE CUTTER CAUSING THE HELICOPTER TO CRASH AND WAS DESTROYED.

NTSB investigation

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