- Date
- January 6, 1994, 14:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- Clearwater, OR
- Injuries
- 3 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N204PCMBB BO-105S
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 2, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940106000189A
- Case key
- 41866
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 in command's failure to maintain clearance with the transmission wires. Factors contributing to the accident were the wires and sunglare.
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 flying the helicopter in a southwesterly direction at 50 feet AGL while following a canal on an aerial survey of wildlife. As he adjusted his flightpath to a westerly heading his visibility was restricted by the afternoon sun. The pilot observed power lines in his flight path and attempted to turn and decelerate to avoid contact. The maneuver was unsuccessful and the helicopter's main rotor blade(s) contacted the wires. The helicopter then descended out of control into a forebay (small pond). The sun's position at the time of the accident was approximatley +16 degrees above the horizon and 216 degrees true azimuth.
Factual narrative
On January 6, 1994, approximately 1445 hours Pacific standard time (PST), a Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm BO-105S, N204PC, registered to and operated by Pacificorp Trans, Inc., and being flown by Lawrence E. Cranford, an airline transport rated helicopter pilot, was destroyed during a collision with wires and subsequent ground impact approximately 5 miles east of Clearwater, Oregon. The pilot and two passengers sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company VFR flight plan was in effect. The flight, which was being conducted for the purposes of aerial observation of wildlife, was to have been operated in accordance with the requirements set forth in 14CFR91.
The pilot reported that he was flying in a southwesterly direction while following a manmade canal at about 50 feet above ground. The canal emptied into an east/west oriented forebay (small pond) and as the helicopter continued following the forebay its flight path was adjusted to a westerly heading. The pilot reported that "as we turned to a westerly heading over the forebay, my forward visibility was restricted by the afternoon sun" and "at the last minute myself (sic) and the front seat passenger saw power lines across the forebay." The pilot reported that he attempted to turn and decelerate to avoid the wires but was unsuccessful. The main rotor blades contacted at least two of the three power lines and the helicopter then descended out of control, impacting near the shoreline of the lake in a near inverted attitude.
The elevation and azimuth of the sun at the time of the accident was approximately +16 degrees above the horizon and 216 degrees (true) respectively.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N204PC
- Reported as
- MBB BO-105S
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- S783
- Airframe hours
- 3,035
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Pacificorp Trans, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Pacificorp Trans, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 7, 1993 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- RBG · Roseburg, OR
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 10,001 total · 146 in this make and model · 7,223 as pilot in command · 192 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RBG, 45 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.