20260715007689A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Robinson Helicopter R44 II · Iowa City, IA · July 15, 2026

Date
July 15, 2026 · 19:42 local
Place
Iowa City, IA
Phase of flight
Maneuver
Operating rules
Agricultural (Part 137)
Operator
BLAG
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N322TC
NTSB investigation
NTSBCEN26LA256
Reported as
Robinson Helicopter R44 II
Reported engine
Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
652 total137 in this make and model22 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.

Pilot-in-command contacted a telephone wire with the right spray boom resulting in an unusual attitude which led to the helicopter crash-landing in a cornfield.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT-IN-COMMAND CONTACTED A TELEPHONE WIRE WITH THE RIGHT SPRAY BOOM RESULTING IN AN UNUSUAL ATTITUDE WHICH LED TO THE HELICOPTER CRASH-LANDING IN A CORNFIELD.

NTSB investigation

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