- Date
- June 15, 1985, 14:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Plainsboro, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N49882Bell 47G-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 35842
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 helicpopter crashed shortly after takeoff with 55 gallons of fertilizer on board. The plt stated that each time he made a swath run over the field the blades of the helicopter were picking up some of the liquid fertilizer. On takeoff helicopter felt heavy, according to the plt. Unable to get the RPM back and too late to activate the emergency dump, the helicopter collided with the ground in the potato field.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N49882
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-3
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2612
- Airframe hours
- 5,185
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-A1F, 280 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Cordoba Helicopters
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 14, 1985 · 53 hours before
- Departed
- Plainsboro, NJ
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
- 53
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 15,420 total · 3,362 in this make and model · 15,357 as pilot in command · 110 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Temperature
- -0 °F
Other investigations on N49882 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.