- Date
- July 7, 1998, 08:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Salinas, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7914SBell 47G-5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 16, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980707016269A
- Case key
- 30142
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 failure of the pilot to maintain clearance with the telephone lines.
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 was spraying a field approximately 10 feet agl parallel to telephone lines. The main rotor blades clipped the telephone lines and the helicopter descended into the ground. The skids became embedded in a row of irrigation pipes and the aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the aircraft prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
On July 7, 1998, at 0800 hours Pacific daylight time, a Bell 47G-5, N7914S, impacted a series of telephone lines near Salinas, California, while applying chemicals to a field. The aircraft was destroyed, and the airline transport rated pilot, the sole occupant, suffered minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 CFR Part 137 flight, and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot reported that he was spraying a field approximately 10 feet agl and was flying parallel to a series of telephone lines. The main rotor blades clipped the telephone lines and the aircraft descended into the ground. The skids of the helicopter became embedded in a row of irrigation pipes and the helicopter nosed over and came to rest inverted.
The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7914S
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-5
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 7848
- Airframe hours
- 6,700
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-BIA, 265 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Gomes Farms Air Service Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 5, 1998 · 5 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
- 26
- Certificates
- Private, Airline transport
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 500 in this make and model · 1,950 as pilot in command · 110 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
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 N7914S · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.