# NTSB CHI03LA204: Continental Copters MK6B, N9080T, Ft. Yates, ND, July 9, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 9, 2003, 07:45 local (13:45 UTC) - Place: Ft. Yates, ND - Coordinates: 46.066387, -100.634719 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.0664&lon=-100.6347&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 2, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA-Fargo FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 57443 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI03LA204 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57443/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI03LA204 ## Probable cause The inadvertent settling with power and unsuccessful remedial action by the pilot. A factor to the accident was the potato crop. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with terrain/water, maneuvering - aerial application - settling with power - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - remedial action - not successful, pilot in command (cause) - terrain condition - crop (contributing factor) ## Analysis The helicopter impacted terrain while maneuvering for aerial application. The pilot reported he was making a "wide swing" to the left while descending. He stated the helicopter entered what he believed to be a "settling with power situation by [his] rotor wash." The pilot said he attempted to recover by dropping the collective and pushing forward on the stick. He reported he was too close to the ground to complete the recovery, so he flared to reduce his airspeed and the helicopter impacted the terrain. The spray boom caught the potato crop and the skids were caught in the wet ground. The helicopter nosed forward and rolled to the right, coming to a rest on its right side. ## Factual narrative On July 9, 2003, at 0745 mountain daylight time, a Continental Copters MK6B, N9080T, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain while maneuvering during an aerial application flight near Ft. Yates, North Dakota. The pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 137 flight had departed approximately two minutes prior to the accident after refueling and loading chemical into the helicopter's hopper. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed. The pilot reported he had taken off from the support truck after refilling with aerial application fluid. He stated he had flown south to return to the field, and then made a "wide swing" to the southwest. The pilot noted he continued his turn to the east, and then the north while descending to get back "on the swath." He reported the helicopter began to settle in what he described as a "settling with power situation by [his] rotorwash." The pilot stated he dropped the collective and pushed the nose forward in an attempt to recover from the settling situation. He noted, "I was already [too] close to [the] ground so I flared to reduce airspeed." The pilot reported the spray booms became caught in the potato crop and the skids caught in the wet ground. The helicopter nosed forward and rolled to the right, coming to a rest on its right side. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or defects during the accident flight. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9080T](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9080T-2014-06-16), registration cancelled 2014-06-16, S/N CCI-76-4, built 1976 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Continental Copters MK6B - Registry model: [Continental Copters TOMCAT MK6B](https://openairdocs.org/model/continental-copters-tomcat-mk6b) (registry code 2390202) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming VO-435 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-vo-435-series) (registry code 41525, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: CCI-76-4 - Airframe hours: 8629 - Engines: Lycoming VO-435-A1F 250 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, March 24, 2003, 58 hours before - Departed: Ft. Yates, ND ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 38; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review May 4, 2002; seat: center; flight hours: 3,200 total, 2,100 in this make and model, 3,100 as pilot in command, 90 in the last 90 days, 60 in the last 30 days, 15 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dawn - Wind: 340° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,900 ft broken - Temperature: 68 °F, dew point 63 °F - Altimeter: 29.87 inHg - Observed at: MBG, 32 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20030709020039A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030709020039A), Jul 9, 2003: Ccoptr TOMCATMK6B, Fort Yates, ND, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot stated that he had just lifted off from the support truck with a load of chemical and fuel and took off into the wind. He made a wide swing to the… ## Other investigations on N9080T (2) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB MIA88LA186](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA88LA186), Jun 1, 1988: Continental Copters MK6B (N9080T), Callahan, FL, substantial damage - [NTSB ATL83LA011](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL83LA011), Oct 15, 1982: Tomcat MK68 (N9080T), Cope, SC, destroyed From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.