# NTSB WPR24LA030: Arrow Falcon Exporters UH-1H, N3053Q, Firebaugh, CA, November 4, 2023 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: November 4, 2023, 12:00 local (19:00 UTC) - Place: Firebaugh, CA · Airport Ramp area - Coordinates: 36.859989, -120.46446 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.8600&lon=-120.4645&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Prior to flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/100) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Prior to flight: Fire/smoke (non-impact)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/150) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 5, 2025 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 193363 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR24LA030 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/193363/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=193363 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR24LA030 ## Probable cause An on-ground fuel fire for reasons that could not be determined due to extensive thermal damage. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Bell UH-1H, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=1181407), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Not specified; cases with it: [Bell UH-1H, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=1181407), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Prior to flight: Fire/smoke (non-impact)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/150) (defining event); cases with it: [Bell UH-1H, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/150/sequence.md?model=1181407), [All aircraft, 504 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/150/sequence.md) ## Analysis The helicopter caught fire shortly after the first start of the day; the pilot shut down the helicopter, exited, and called 911. The fire originated on the left side of the helicopter where the fuel shutoff valve is located, on the airframe side of the firewall. The helicopter sustained extensive thermal damage in the cargo area. The fuel shutoff valve and associated fuel lines were destroyed. Maintenance personnel stated that they thought one of the inlet fuel lines had come loose and sprayed fuel, which ignited and started the fire; however, no such evidence to support or disprove this theory survived the fire. The last annual inspection was signed off about three and a half months before the accident. Maintenance personnel checked the fuel lines on the airframe side to the fuel shutoff valve with no issues noted in the maintenance log. ## Factual narrative On November 4, 2023, at 1200 Pacific standard time, an Arrow Falcon Exporters UH-1H, N3053Q, was substantially damaged during startup near Firebaugh, California. The pilot was not injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. The pilot stated that he thought the helicopter may not have been flown for the prior 2 weeks. He performed the preflight inspection and startup with no anomalies. As he was turning on the GPS system and putting his helmet on, he began to see and smell smoke in the cockpit. He looked outside and noted smoke coming from the upper engine compartment, so he secured and shut down the helicopter and called 911. The fire department extinguished the fire. Postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed significant thermal damage to the left side cockpit and cargo areas near the engine from the on-ground fire. The engine remained attached to the upper engine compartment. The engine side fuel filter remained in its normal position with the fuel lines attached. The area where the fuel shutoff valve was located on the airframe side was thermally destroyed and the fuel lines were thermally consumed in the fire. Maintenance personnel concluded the fire started on the airframe side at a fuel inlet line to the fuel shutoff valve. A review of the maintenance logbooks showed an annual inspection had been completed on July 18, 2023, about three and a half months before the accident. According to the director of maintenance, the fuel line fittings would have been checked for tightness at that time. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3053Q](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3053Q), registered now, S/N 66-1104, built 1966 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Arrow Falcon Exporters UH-1H - Registry model: [Bell UH-1H](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-uh-1h) (registry code 1181407) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming T-53 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-t-53-series) (registry code 41552, turbo-shaft) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 66-1104 - Year built: 1966 - Airframe hours: 11495.4 - Engines: Honeywell T-53 1150 horsepower turbo shaft - Damage: Substantial damage - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Operator: West Valley Aviation Inc - Registered owner: West Valley Aviation Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: 100 hour, September 14, 2023, 70.2 hours before - Airport: F34, Firebaugh - Equipment: None ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 43; injuries: none; commercial; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 0 total, 0 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 150° at 4 knots - Visibility: 9 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 43 °F - Altimeter: 30.11 inHg - Observed at: KMAE, 19 nm away - METAR: KMAE 041853Z AUTO 15004KT 9SM CLR 23/06 A3011 RMK AO2 SLP195 T02280061 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20231104021059A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20231104021059A), Nov 4, 2023: Bell UH-1H, Firebaugh, CA, Destroyed. On November 4, 2023, [privacy data omitted] a Bell UH-1H helicopter caught fire during the startup of a maintenance check. During the engine startup, it was… ## Docket (8 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 5, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=193363. 199 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 3.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19433039&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120-Rel.pdf - Pilot's statement (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 71 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19433369&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Pilot%20Statement-Rel.pdf - Witness statements (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 65 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19433166&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Record%20of%20Interview-Rel.pdf - Record of conversation (item 4, PDF, 1 page, 67 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19464628&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation-Rel.pdf - Excerpt helicopter logbook (item 5, PDF, 3 pages, 192 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19464618&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Logbooks_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 6, PDF, 5 pages, 1.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19445778&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photos%20WPR24LA030-Rel.pdf - NTSB examination report (item 7, PDF, 9 pages, 1.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19464798&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Examination%20Report-Rel.pdf - Release of aircraft wreckage, NTSB form 6120.15 (item 8, PDF, 2 pages, 410 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19465077&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Wreckage%20Release%20WPR24LA030_Redacted-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.