- Date
- January 7, 1983, 16:30 local (Jan 8, 1983, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Near Vacaville, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4027DHiller UH-12E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830107000309A
- Case key
- 23596
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 aircraft collided with a telephone wire during takeoff. The pilot made a precautionary landing on the soft bank of a levee to assess the damage and left the rotor at idle. The levee bank gave way and the helicopter slid into the ditch where the rotor blades hit the ground. The pilot said he should not have worked so close to the wires.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4027D
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-12E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 5072
- Airframe hours
- 600
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-540-C2A, 305 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Robert Porterfarm Air Flying I
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 20, 1982 · 70 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
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 6,080 total · 300 in this make and model · 5,700 as pilot in command · 60 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Temperature
- 50 °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 N4027D · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.