- Date
- March 27, 1992, 05:35 local (13:35 UTC)
- Place
- Watsonville, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N149HAHiller UH-12E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report August 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920327007699A
- Case key
- 27582
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
A failure of the pilot to conduct an adequate pre-flight inspection of the aircraft to ensure that the fuel supply was free of contaminates. Contributing to this accident was fuel contamination.
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 certificated commercial pilot was conducting aerial spray operations in a helicopter. About 30 minutes after departing a nearby airport, the pilot was taking off from a field to begin applying the third load of an insecticide. About 100 yards from the takeoff point, the helicopter's engine suddenly lost power and sounded as if it was misfiring. The helicopter began to descend and the pilot flared the helicopter to slow the its forward motion. The tail rotor struck the ground and the helicopter then settled into the field, collapsing the landing gear skids. The wreckage examination at the accident site revealed water in the main fuel sump. A post accident examination of the engine revealed contamination in the fuel sump and left carburetor screen.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N149HA
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-12E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- HA-3049
- Airframe hours
- 4,814
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-540-CSA, 305 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Helicair Ag Inc.
- Registered owner
- Helicair Ag Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 5, 1991 · 70 hours before
- Departed
- SNS · Salinas, 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
- 33
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 7,300 total · 2,800 in this make and model · 7,200 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 270° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 800 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SNS, 15 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 N149HA · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.