- Date
- July 9, 2004, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Clear Lake, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N10009Texas Helicopter M-74
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20040709026369A
- Case key
- 59737
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 failed to maintain a proper glidepath to the landing zone. A factor was the truck pad.
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
A helicopter sustained substantial damage while attempting to land on a truck pad that was positioned in a field. The pilot reported he was starting to spray his fourth field when he observed that the fuel gauge on the helicopter was close to the "low/danger area." He returned to the truck to refuel. As he was approaching the truck pad for landing, "the helicopter started to settle and in spite of forward cyclic and full power, rotor RPM started to decay." He was not able to get the skids all the way on the pad and the helicopter fell backwards off the truck pad. The helicopter rolled to the right and nosed into the ground. It spun around and ended up facing the truck with its engine still running. The pilot shut down the helicopter and exited the aircraft.
Factual narrative
On July 9, 2004, at 1530 central daylight time, a Texas Helicopter, M-74, N10009, sustained substantial damage while attempting to land on a truck pad that was positioned in a field near Waubun, Minnesota. The pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight was returning to refuel on the truck pad. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed.
The pilot reported he was starting to spray his fourth field when he observed that the fuel gauge on the helicopter was close to the "low/danger area." He returned to the truck to refuel. He reported that as he was approaching the truck for landing, "the helicopter started to settle and in spite of forward cyclic and full power, rotor RPM started to decay." He reported that he was not able to get the skids all the way on the pad and the helicopter fell backwards off the truck pad. The pilot reported that the helicopter rolled to the right and nosed into the ground. It spun around and ended up facing the truck with its engine still running. The pilot shut down the helicopter and exited the aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N10009
- Reported as
- Texas Helicopter M-74
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 79-032
- Engine
- Lycoming O-435-25A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Gary Oleen
- Registered owner
- Gary Oleen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- Clear Lake, MN
- Destination
- Clear Lake, 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
- 61
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 14,102 total · 1,931 in this make and model · 249 in the last 90 days · 143 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
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 N10009 · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.