- Date
- August 16, 1988, 20:05 local (Aug 17, 1988, 03:05 UTC)
- Place
- Thermal, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N65120Hiller UH-12E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report November 28, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880816033959A
- Case key
- 25720
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
Shortly after refueling the helicopter & reloading the hopper, the plt took off & was starting to spray a field when the eng suddenly lost power. The plt said the helicopter was dscndg from about 30 ft when the power loss occurred; thus, he barely had time to take corrective action. The helicopter touched down in an upright attitude, but it skidded into a 1 ft berm, rolled over & came to rest in a muddy/flooded field. Mud & water were found in the acft fuel system. The evidence indicated that the fuel contamination was not the result of impact & inversion. A check of the mobile refueling unit revealed it contained cracks which allowed moisture & other contaminants to enter. Also, the mobile unit's fuel filter was improperly installed & was not removing contaminants from the fuel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N65120
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-12E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1469
- Airframe hours
- 2,340
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-540-C2A, 305 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- West Farm Air, Inc, doing business as West Farm Air
- Registered owner
- Monmouth County Nj
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 2, 1988 · 42 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
- 56
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Multi-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 13,000 total · 3,500 in this make and model · 12,000 as pilot in command · 60 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.