- Date
- October 16, 1989, 03:30 local (10:30 UTC)
- Place
- Huron, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4026GHiller 12E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891016040739A
- Case key
- 26556
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 failed to properly preflight the airplane before departing on the accident flight and misjudged the flare during the ensuing autorotation. Factors relating to this accident were oil starvation and total failure of the connecting rod.
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 pilot completed an aerial spraying flight, landed and picked up his flagman to transport him to another field. While enroute to the field at about 50 ft AGL the helicopter sustained a total engine failure. During the ensuing autorotation the pilot misjudged the flare altitude and sustained a hard landing. The investigation revealed that the no. 3 connecting rod failed due to oil starvation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4026G
- Reported as
- Hiller 12E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 5049
- Airframe hours
- 3,219
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-540-C2A, 305 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Healy, Joseph G., doing business as Huron Ag Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Russell W. Spencer
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 8, 1989 · 58 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
- 47
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 12,500 total · 3,500 in this make and model · 12,000 as pilot in command · 180 in the last 90 days · 65 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 200° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- NLC, 16 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 N4026G · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.