- Date
- October 16, 1997, 10:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Welsh, LA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7104JBell 47G-4A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19971016046479A
- Case key
- 20468
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 control of the helicopter, while maneuvering to avoid an obstruction. The abrupt maneuver was a related factor.
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
While applying herbicide in a northeast direction, the pilot observed a road running east to west in front of his flight path. As the helicopter approached the road, the pilot 'sensed' that a power line was running adjacent to it. He immediately executed a 'hard cyclic turn to the right.' The helicopter settled, with a 'slight' nose low attitude, into heavy brush. After contacting the ground, the helicopter rolled over, the main rotor blades struck the ground, and the helicopter came to rest on its left side.
Factual narrative
On October 16, 1997, at 1000 central daylight time, a Bell 47G-4A helicopter, N7104J, owned and operated by Industrial Helicopters, Inc., of Lafayette, Louisiana, was substantially damaged when it impacted the ground near Welsh, Louisiana. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the helicopter, was uninjured. A company VFR flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the Title 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight, which originated from Welsh Airport, Welsh, Louisiana, at 0955.
In a written statement, the pilot reported that he was flying in a northeasterly direction, applying herbicide, when he noticed a power line running north to south on his right. He then observed a road in front of him running east to west. The pilot stated that he did not see the power line running east to west, adjacent to the road, breaking off from the north-south running power line. However, as he approached the road, he "sensed" that there was a power line present and executed a "hard cyclic turn to the right." The pilot was then able to view the power line, between the spray boom and the main rotor blades, "about 4 feet" from the helicopter's door.
As the helicopter moved away from the power line, the pilot felt a "mild vibration," and the helicopter's tail turned into the wind, "causing a sudden rate of descent with a nose down attitude." The pilot reported that the winds were from "010 degrees at 5 knots, gusting to 7 knots." The helicopter settled, with a "slight" nose low attitude, into an area of "heavy brush." The main rotor blades struck the ground, and the helicopter rolled over onto its left side.
Inspection of the helicopter, by a FAA inspector, revealed that the center frame sustained structural damage. The main rotor blades, the tail rotor blades, the tail rotor drive shaft and the gear box supports were also damaged.
Attempts to contact the pilot-in-command for a telephone interview, thru the operator, were unsuccessful.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7104J
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-4A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 7744
- Airframe hours
- 10,673
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 435 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Industrial Helicopters, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 25, 1997 · 111 hours before
- Departed
- 6R1 · LA
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 25
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,300 total · 600 in this make and model · 1,200 as pilot in command · 300 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °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 N7104J · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.