- Date
- October 2, 2005, 09:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Pixley, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N201SCBell 206B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20051002024039A
- Case key
- 62592
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 wire during a low altitude 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 impacted a support wire between two poles while it was conducting aerial applications. The pilot completed spraying the field and was getting ready to spray the borders. He checked the power lines near the field and elected to fly beneath them to prevent drift over the adjacent field. As the pilot neared the wires for the spray run, he noticed a guy-wire running from pole-to-pole below the power lines. He lowered to collective, but the helicopter snagged the wire with the top portion of the vertical stabilizer. The helicopter then impacted terrain and rolled into a canal.
Factual narrative
On October 2, 2005, at 0900 Pacific daylight time, a Bell 206B, N201SC, impacted a wire and terrain during an aerial application flight near Pixley, California. The pilot, the sole occupant, sustained serious injuries, and the helicopter was substantially damaged. The helicopter was registered to, and operated by, Slykerman Ag Aviation, Inc., Bakersfield, California, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed for the local flight that originated from the spray field about 40 minutes prior to the accident.
According to the pilot's written statement, he finished spraying the field and was respraying the boarders on the west side of the field. He checked the wires on the southwest corner of the field for clearance, and elected to fly under the power lines to avoid drift onto the grapes to the south of the sprayed field. He flew to the south, checked the wires again, and came back around to start the spray run. Just as the helicopter neared the wires, the pilot noticed a guy-wire running from pole-to-pole under the power lines. The pilot lowered the collective in an attempt to miss the wire, but struck it with the topside of the vertical stabilizer. The helicopter then impacted the edge of a canal bank and rolled into the canal.
The pilot was wearing a helmet. He reported no anomalies with the helicopter or engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N201SC
- Reported as
- Bell 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3427
- Airframe hours
- 8,256.9
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Slykerman Ag Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 2005
- Departed
- Pixley, CA
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 61
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2005
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 21,500 total · 750 in this make and model · 326 in the last 90 days · 71 in the last 30 days · 9 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.