- Date
- June 6, 1989, 07:48 local (12:48 UTC)
- Place
- Millersville, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7439FHughes 269C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890606014549A
- Case key
- 14227
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
Loss of rotor RPM for an undetermined reason during a turn to reverse direction while applying agricultural chemicals.
Analysis
The accident helicopter collided with terrain after the rotor RPM decayed during a turn to reverse direction while applying agricultural chemicals.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7439F
- Reported as
- Hughes 269C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 460489
- Airframe hours
- 4,615
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360, 190 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Perkinson Copters, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 15, 1989 · 37 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
- 33
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Military
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,098 total · 1,002 in this make and model · 3,586 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 59 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SPI, 34 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.