- Date
- December 18, 1985, 17:21 local (Dec 19, 1985, 01:21 UTC)
- Place
- Moss, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Uncontrolled descent
- Aircraft
- N8404EBell 47G2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19851218062929A
- Case key
- 25040
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
After starting a left climbing turn at the end of a spray run the plt said he felt a 'shudder in the airframe' as the engine 'went to full RPM.' The plt stated that he thought 'the clutch had slipped' and added collective to compensate. The helicopter began settling toward the ground and the plt said he could not arrest the descent prior to ground impact. The engine, transmission and clutch assemblies were examined, with no evidence of pre-impact failure or malfunction evident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8404E
- Reported as
- Bell 47G2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2013
- Airframe hours
- 12,366
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Gomes Farm Air Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 5, 1985 · 100 hours before
- Destination
- 540 · Castroville, 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
- 25
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,400 total · 1,200 as pilot in command · 60 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SNS, 12 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.
Other investigations on N8404E · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.