- Date
- July 15, 2003, 07:30 local (12:30 UTC)
- Place
- Cleveland, MN
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7925JBell 47G-5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-Minneapolis FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030715015279A
- Case key
- 57478
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 inadequate visual lookout and low altitude flight when he failed to maintain altitude/clearance from the transmission wire. A factor contributing to the accident was the transmission wire.
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 sustained substantial damage when it impacted a transmission wire and the terrain while performing aerial application maneuvers. The pilot reported he did not see the transmission wire until it impacted the windshield and deflected upwards towards the main rotorblades. The pilot stated the helicopter began to vibrate severely and descend. The helicopter impacted the terrain on its skids and rolled over onto its left side.
Factual narrative
On July 15, 2003, about 0730 central daylight time, a Bell 47G-5 helicopter, N7925J, piloted by a commercial pilot, was destroyed on impact with a transmission wire and terrain near Cleveland, Minnesota. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot sustained serious injuries. The flight departed from a private airstrip near Cleveland, Minnesota, at 0725.
The pilot reported he did not see the transmission wire until it impacted the cockpit windshield. The pilot stated the transmission wire deflected over the top of the cockpit and the helicopter started to "vibrate severely." He noted the helicopter started to descend and he "tried to pick [a] landing spot near [a] ditch in soft ground." The pilot reported he saw pieces of the helicopter that had been cut off by the main rotorblade "flying by the aircraft" prior to impact. The helicopter impacted on its skids and rolled onto its left side.
The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures prior to the impact with the wires.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7925J
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-5
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 25041
- Airframe hours
- 6,372.7
- Engine
- Allison T63A700, 318 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Scott's Helicopter Services
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 11, 2003 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- PVT · Cleveland, MN
- Destination
- PVT · MN
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
- Serious
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 12,500 total · 9,000 in this make and model · 12,500 as pilot in command · 85 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- MKT, 7 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.
Other investigations on N7925J · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.