- Date
- August 14, 2008, 10:45 local (15:45 UTC)
- Place
- Kenyon, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N47AHBell 47G-3B
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Settling with power/vortex ring state
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20080814844439A
- Case key
- 68761
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 preflight planning which resulted in the helicopter settling with power.
Findings · 1
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 he had flown the helicopter on several aerial application flights earlier in the day, and that the humidity had increased as the weather cleared. He stated that the initial takeoff was normal, but that when he was about 100 yards from the support truck, the rotor rpm began to decay, and the helicopter settled into a soybean field. The spray boom caught in the crop, and the helicopter pitched forward, which resulted in the main rotor blades contacting the ground. The aft section of the tail boom, including the tail rotor, separated from the helicopter. The pilot reported there was no mechanical malfunction/failure with the helicopter. He did report that he should have decreased his load due to the weather conditions.
Factual narrative
On August 14, 2008, at 1045 central daylight time, a Bell helicopter 47G-3B, N47AH, collided with the terrain following a loss of control while taking off from a support truck in Kenyon, Minnesota. The pilot was not injured and the helicopter was substantially damaged. The aerial application flight was being operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident. The pilot reported he had flown several aerial application flights earler in the day and that the humidity had increased as the weather cleared. He stated that the initial takeoff was normal. The pilot stated that when he was about 100 yards from the support truck, the rotor rpm began to decay and the helicopter settled into a soybean field. The spray boom caught in the crop and the helicopter pitched forward which resulted in the main rotor blades contacting the ground. The aft section of the tailboom, including the tail rotor, separated from the helicopter. The pilot reported there was no mechanical malfunction/failure with the helicopter. He did report that he should have decreased his load due to the weather conditions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N47AH
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-3B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2645
- Engine
- Lycoming 435A/F, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Scotts Helicopter Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- Kenyon, 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
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 12,900 total · 3,000 in this make and model · 12,665 as pilot in command · 184 in the last 90 days · 56 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.96 inHg
- Observed at
- FBL
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 N47AH · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.