- Date
- July 7, 1969
- Place
- Union City, PA · UNION CITY, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8556FBell 47G-5
- Status
- Completed · report February 17, 1970
- Report
- Brief approved by the director
- Case key
- 165999
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
NTSB brief
NTSB’s brief of the accident, as it was printed: the coded facts, with the probable cause and factors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FILE DATE LOCATION AIRCRAFT DATA INJURIES FLIGHT PILOT DATA F S M/N PURPOSE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3-3072 69/7/7 UNION CITY,PA BELL 47G-5 CR- 0 0 1 COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL, FL.INSTR., TIME - 0740 N8556F PX- 0 0 0 AERIAL APPLICATION AGE 43, 7500 TOTAL HOURS, DAMAGE-SUBSTANTIAL OT- 0 0 0 4800 IN TYPE, NOT INSTRUMENT RATED. DEPARTURE POINT INTENDED DESTINATION MAYVILLE,NY UNION CITY,PA TYPE OF ACCIDENT PHASE OF OPERATION COLLIDED WITH: WIRES/POLES IN FLIGHT: SWATH RUN PROBABLE CAUSE(S) PILOT IN COMMAND - INADEQUATE PREFLIGHT PREPARATION AND/OR PLANNING TERRAIN - HIDDEN OBSTRUCTIONS SPECIAL DATA TOTAL HOURS IN CROP CONTROL - UNKNOWN/NOT REPORTED KIND OF OPERATION - SPRAYING CROPS KIND OF CROP - POTATOES TYPE OF CHEMICAL USED - LIQUID CHEMICAL-NONTOXIC PILOT' S SEAT BELT -FASTENED-PROPERLY GLOVES - NOT USED GOGGLES - NOT USED CRASH HELMET - AVAILABLE USED COCKPIT CRASHPAD - NOT INSTALLED CRASH BAR - NOT INSTALLED TANK/HOPPER-LOCATION - SIDES TERRAIN-TYPE -LEVEL,FLAT ELEVATION-AREA BEING TREATED-FEET - 1200 SWATH RUN-HOW FLOWN - WIND CALM REMARKS- WIRES CONCEALED FROM PLTS VIEW BY TREES. PLT SAID HE HAD NOT SEEN WIRES DURG GRND CHECK OF AREA.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8556F
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-5
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engine
- reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
N8556FRegistration cancelled Jan 7, 2026 · Bell 47G-5Airframe modelBell 47G-5Engine modelLycoming VO-540 series
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.
Other investigations on N8556F · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.