- Date
- September 9, 2003, 12:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Kekaha, HI
- NTSB coordinates
- 22.9500, -159.7167, outside the stated state
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9792CHiller UH12E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 25, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030909036289A
- Case key
- 57915
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 with the wires due to an inadequate visual lookout.
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 during aerial application operations. The pilot was returning to the service truck for another load [of chemicals]. At the top of a ridge, approximately 500 feet mean sea level, there were two power lines of which he was unaware. During a descent at 60 knots, the helicopter impacted the top wire "about the middle of the bubble." As a result, it pitched forward and the main rotor blade cut the wire and tail boom off in sequence. The helicopter began spinning to the right and the pilot performed an autorotation.
Factual narrative
On September 9, 2003, at 1215 Hawaiian standard time, a restricted category Hiller UH-12E helicopter, N9792C, collided with power lines during aerial application operations near Kekaha, Hawaii. Murray Ag, Inc., the registered owner, was operating the helicopter under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137. The helicopter sustained substantial damage; the commercial pilot was not injured. The flight departed a local field at 1200. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
In a written statement, the pilot reported that he was returning to the service truck for another load [of chemicals]. At the top of a ridge, approximately 500 feet mean sea level, there were two power lines of which he was unaware. During a descent at 60 knots, the helicopter impacted the top wire "about the middle of the bubble." As a result, it pitched forward and the main rotor blade cut the wire and tail boom off in sequence. The helicopter began spinning to the right and the pilot performed an autorotation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9792C
- Reported as
- Hiller UH12E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2277
- Engine
- Lycoming VO 540, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Murray Ag, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- Polihale, HI
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
- 63
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 10,516 total · 1,077 in this make and model · 40 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- PHLI
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 N9792C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.