- Date
- May 10, 2021, 13:20 local (18:20 UTC)
- Place
- Norris City, IL · on gravel road
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N567VFRichards Heavylift Helo UH-1H
- Defining event
- Standing-engine(s) operating: Ground handling event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20210510023129A
- Case key
- 103066
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s improper positioning of the helicopter on the landing pad, and his failure to monitor and control the helicopter as fuel and chemical product were loaded, which led to the helicopter tipping and sliding off the landing pad, and subsequently impacting the ground.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that after landing on a trailer landing pad for the purpose of hot refueling and loading chemical product onboard, on completing those actions, the helicopter slid backwards off the trailer impacting the ground. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and tail boom. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operations. The operator reported that the helicopter’s center of gravity required that both skid cross tubes be positioned over the landing pad, which required the front cross tube to be placed precisely near the front of the landing pad. The ground crew and pilot were unsure of the helicopter’s position when it landed but recognized that it was possibly too far aft. Following the accident, the operator installed extensions to the landing pad to provide a larger landing area for the helicopter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N567VF
- Reported as
- Richards Heavylift Helo UH-1H
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 65-10016
- Built
- 1966
- Airframe hours
- 7,938
- Engine
- Honeywell T53-L-703, 1,800 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Kash Helicopter Services LLC
- Registered owner
- Kash Helicopter Services LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 11, 2020
- Departed
- Mount Vernon, IL
- Destination
- New Haven, IL
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Handheld GPS
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
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 1, 2020
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 5,050 total · 260 in this make and model · 5,000 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 5 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- KHSB, 13 nm away
- METAR
- KHSB 101815Z AUTO 09005G14KT 10SM CLR 15/01 A3015 RMK AO2 T01460013
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 8, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 8.7 MB in all.
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 N567VF · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.