- Date
- July 4, 1983, 11:45 local (15:45 UTC)
- Place
- Thomasville, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N37785Sikorsky UH-19D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830704027979A
- Case key
- 6110
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 helicopter was on a swath run at about 5 ft AGL & was approaching hi obstructions when the plt noted that the needles split, the eng RPM increased & the main rotor RPM began decreasing. The plt turned to avoid the obstructions, but was unable to level the acft before ground impact. It hit the ground in a right side, tail low, attitude & rotated to the right after the main rotor made ground contact. An investigation revealed the hydromechanical clutch had been overhauled & installed, 2.5 flt hrs prior to the accident. No unusual wear, defective parts nor improper alignment of the clutch was found. The clutch had been lubricated with an updated oil. The military had upgrade MIL-L-2105 lubricant to MIL-L-2105B & c with new additives to prevent lockup of its limited slip differentials on newer helicopters. However,the additives were not compatible with UH-19D hydromechanical clutches which used a metal-to-metal principle. After the accident, MIL-L-21260 type 1, grade 30 oil was made a substitute for MIL-L-2105A grade 80 oil, which was no longer avail
Aircraft
- Registration
- N37785
- Reported as
- Sikorsky UH-19D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 57-5932
- Airframe hours
- 2,684
- Engine
- Wright R-1300-3D, 800 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Powers Crop Dusters, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 11, 1983 · 34 hours before
- Departed
- TVI · Thomasville, GA
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 13,600 total · 600 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ABY, 41 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.