- Date
- March 20, 1993, 06:47 local (14:47 UTC)
- Place
- Greenfield, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7080JBell 47G5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 15, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930320005709A
- Case key
- 27949
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's failure to maintain an adequate clearance from the power lines while performing an aerial application run.
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 stated that he was flying under a diagonal set of powerlines in the north east corner of the field he was spraying. He reported that after clearing the diagonal set at the field boundary he pulled up to avoid another set of lines; however, he failed to clear the uppermost wire. After colliding with the wire, the helicopter descended out of control and collided with the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7080J
- Reported as
- Bell 47G5
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 25026
- Airframe hours
- 16,021
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-B1A, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Soilserv, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Soilserv, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 19, 1993 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- KIC · King City, CA
- Destination
- KIC
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
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10,789 total · 9,624 in this make and model · 29 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 5° at 1 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.