- Date
- August 24, 2002, 18:40 local (Aug 25, 2002, 01:40 UTC)
- Place
- Oasis, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8478HBell 47G-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20020824021989A
- Case key
- 55553
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 an adequate visual lookout and clearance with power lines while maneuvering during an aerial application flight.
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 helicopter collided with power lines while conducting an aerial application flight. The local weather conditions were clear skies and 10 statute miles visibility.
Factual narrative
On August 24, 2002, at 1840 Pacific daylight time, a Bell 47G-2, N8478H, collided with power lines during aerial application maneuvering near Oasis, California. The helicopter, operated by Salton Sea Air Services under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 as an agricultural crop dusting operation, sustained substantial damage. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The helicopter departed from a private strip near the accident site, and was scheduled to terminate at the private strip.
In a written statement provided by the pilot, he stated that he was working for a local citrus nursery when he "hit some power lines."
The weather conditions in the local area at the time of the accident were clear skies and 10 statute miles visibility.
The pilot had accumulated a total of 19,950 flight hours, of which 710 hours were accumulated in helicopters. All of his helicopter flight time was in the Bell 47.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8478H
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2214
- Airframe hours
- 13,406
- Engine
- Lycoming UO 435-A1F, 265 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Salton Sea Air Services
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 2002 · 208 hours before
- Departed
- Oasis, CA
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
- 54
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- August 24, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 19,950 total · 710 in this make and model · 19,750 as pilot in command · 140 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 97 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.76 inHg
- Observed at
- TRM, 10 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.