- Date
- July 20, 1989, 08:00 local (13:00 UTC)
- Place
- Blackriverfalls, WI
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N48313Hiller UH-12E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 11, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890720024199A
- Case key
- 14209
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
Pilot-in-command's failure to jettison the external load followed by his misjudgement of distance to avoid collision with the external load.
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
During liftoff with an external load hopper containing 450 pounds of fertilizer, the operator of the helicopter reported something snapped followed by a loss of throttle control from the left collective/throttle control. A switch of hands on the controls was made, left hand to cyclic and right hand to master collective/throttle. The pilot attempted to land setting the hopper down first followed by the helicopter. The right skid contacted the hopper causing the helicopter to tilt and the main rotor to strike the ground, pulling the helicopter aprx 70 feet before it came to rest.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N48313
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-12E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1213
- Airframe hours
- 7,674
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-540-C-2-A, 305 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Decker, James E.
- Registered owner
- James E Decker
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 16, 1989 · 62 hours before
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
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,314 total · 366 in this make and model · 6,167 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 55 °F
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 N48313 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.