- Date
- July 2, 1982, 17:25 local (22:25 UTC)
- Place
- Oswego, SC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N73871Bell-Cont 42G EL TOMCAT-MK5A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 2, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820702026189A
- Case key
- 72118
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The purpose of the flight was to study cotton fields that the pilot had been assigned to spray in the near future. He stated that during a landing approach on a farm field road, a wasp landed on his left arm and started stinging. The pilot allowed the rotor RPM to drop, an excessive sink rate developed, and the helicopter landed hard.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N73871
- Reported as
- Bell-Cont 42G EL TOMCAT-MK5A (EL TOMCAT-)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- CCI163
- Airframe hours
- 1,339
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435 AIF, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Ac Rotor Inc
- Registered owner
- Ac Rotor Inc
- Departed
- Dalzell, SC
- Destination
- Dalzell, SC
- Airport
- Farm Field
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 51
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 7,918 total · 1,334 in this make and model · 7,751 as pilot in command · 93 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Temperature
- 185 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N73871 · 5
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.