# NTSB WPR24LA036: Bell OH-58A, N103WC, Estacada, OR, November 15, 2023 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: November 15, 2023, 07:45 local (15:45 UTC) - Place: Estacada, OR - Coordinates: 45.265907, -122.35522 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.2659&lon=-122.3552&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering-hover: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 193390 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR24LA036 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/193390/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=193390 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR24LA036 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to maintain helicopter control during an external load operation, which resulted in the helicopter’s main rotor blades impacting the tail boom. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,269 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering-hover: External load event (Rotorcraft)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/480); cases with it: [All aircraft, 51 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/480/sequence.md) - [Maneuvering-hover: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that he was relocating bundles of trees from the harvest field onto a truck bed. Approximately 30 minutes into the operation, the load hook did not immediately release when he was setting a bundle down. The pilot pressed the release button multiple times, as he had done in similar situations in the past. The helicopter’s momentum, as it moved back towards the field, caused the bundle to slide a few feet. One of the main rotor blades then struck the tail boom, and the other blade flapped down, cutting off the rear section of the tail boom, vertical stabilizer, and tail rotor. The helicopter spun several times before landing, resting flat on the skids. The landing impact was forceful enough to break the mast and dislodge the main transmission. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor, tail boom, vertical stabilizer, tail rotor, and transmission. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operations. ## Aircraft - Registration: N103WC (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: BELL OH-58A - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 69-16083 - Year built: 1969 - Airframe hours: 9087 - Engines: Rolls Royce T63-A-720 400 horsepower turbo shaft - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: External load, Part 133 - Operator: Edgefield Aviation LLC - Registered owner: Edgefield Aviation LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: 100 hour, November 12, 2023, 19 hours before - Destination: Same as departure - Equipment: ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 47; injuries: none; flight instructor, commercial; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review August 1, 2023; seat: right; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 1,858 total, 591 in this make and model, 1,774 as pilot in command, 116 in the last 90 days, 91 in the last 30 days, 9 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dawn - Wind: 20° at 4 knots - Visibility: 2.5 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 700 ft broken - Temperature: 46 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 29.95 inHg - Observed at: KUAO, 18 nm away - METAR: KUAO 151553Z 02004KT 2 1/2SM BR BKN007 BKN035 OVC050 08/07 A2995 RMK AO2 RAB13E39 SLP142 P0001 T00780067 ## 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 20231115015289A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20231115015289A), Nov 15, 2023: Bell OH-58A, Estacada, OR, Substantial damage. During a part 133 external load operation, the helicopter was delivering a load of christmas trees to the landing. When the pilot activated the release, the… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 6, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=193390. 8.2 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 7.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16579533&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Report%20N103WC_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 795 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17102986&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WPR24LA036%20Docket%20photo-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.