- Date
- September 15, 2021, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Reynoldsville, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N166LWRobinson Helicopter R66
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/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
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20210915011519A
- Case key
- 103884
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 failure to maintain clearance from the wire during low altitude operations in windy conditions.
Findings · 3
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 during an aerial application flight, the wind was about 10-15 mph from the south. During the flight, the pilot noted that the wind created a “pocket of turbulence” over a wire due to a gap in nearby trees. As the helicopter went over the wire, a pocket of descending air pushed the helicopter into the wire. The pilot made an uneventful precautionary landing at his nearby landing site; the main rotor blades sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N166LW
- Reported as
- Robinson Helicopter R66
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0766
- Built
- 2017
- Engine
- Rolls Royce 250-C300/A1, 300 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Thompson Flying Service LLC
- Registered owner
- Thompson Flying Service LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- McClure, IL
- Airport
- n/a
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 25
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1 total · 1 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- KCGI, 12 nm away
- METAR
- KCGI 152000Z AUTO 03007KT 10SM CLR 29/19 A2994 RMK T02900190
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 6, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 611 KB 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.