- Date
- June 25, 2023, 19:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Sandersville, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N919ACBell Helicopter Textron 206B
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 192607
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 failure to maintain clearance of trees during landing, which resulted in a tail rotor contact with tree limbs and a subsequent loss of control.
Findings · 2
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 stated that while conducting agricultural spraying operations, he flew back to the fuel truck for fuel. He radioed his spotter and asked if the area was clear, and the spotter told him it was. He was attempting to land on a trailer when the tail rotor came into contact with some tree limbs and several tail rotor blades separated from the helicopter. The helicopter immediately lost tail rotor authority and began to yaw. The pilot then tried to move the helicopter away from the trailer and land on the ground. The tail rotor and gearbox separated from the helicopter before the pilot landed the helicopter on the ground. The helicopter’s empennage was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N919AC
- Reported as
- Bell Helicopter Textron 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 4020
- Built
- 1988
- Airframe hours
- 12,412
- Engine
- Rolls-Royce M250-C20, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Vertical Vegetation Management LLC
- Registered owner
- Vertical Vegetation Management LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 16, 2023
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS, ADS-B
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
- 41
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 4, 2022
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 7,331 total · 872 in this make and model · 7,182 as pilot in command · 72 in the last 90 days · 72 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.92 inHg
- Observed at
- KMLJ, 24 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 31, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.2 MB in all.
Other investigations on N919AC · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.