- Date
- July 11, 1988, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Rayville, LA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N47345Texas Helicopter M74C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 10, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880711026409A
- Case key
- 22496
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
The commercial pilot was spraying his cotton field with his own helicopter. The acft hit a tree during a right turning pull-up. The tail rotor blades were severed first then, during an uncontrolled right turn, the tailboom hit another tree. The main rotor blades struck a tree and the main rotor head and blades separated from the acft. The helicopter rolled inverted and came to rest in a ditch.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N47345
- Reported as
- Texas Helicopter M74C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 76-002
- Airframe hours
- 2,702
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-A1F, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Michael D. Finley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 26, 1988 · 106 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
- 32
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 2,996 total · 2,587 in this make and model · 106 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
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 N47345 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.