ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 290063
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| Date: | Friday 3 May 2013 |
| Time: | 23:12 LT |
| Type: |  Bell OH-58A |
| Owner/operator: | Morris Ag Air |
| Registration: | N911RN |
| MSN: | 40494 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 6729 hours |
| Engine model: | Allison T63-A-720 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Somerton, Arizona -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Yuma, AZ (KNLY) |
| Somerton, AZ (54AZ) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that, at the time of the accident, he had been awake for about 14 hours. The accident flight occurred about midnight as he was completing his 15th agricultural application to a field in dark night conditions with no moon and a cloud layer. Forward-projecting flood lights had been mounted on the helicopter to illuminate the terrain directly in front of it. The pilot stated that, while in a left turn to align with a narrow field that had a row of power lines running along one side, he applied left cyclic until it hit the stop. The helicopter continued to drift toward the power lines, so he increased the collective and left pedal to maneuver over them. Although the helicopter cleared the power lines, it started to rotate to the right in an uncommanded fashion and subsequently collided with terrain. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failure with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had accumulated 40 hours of night-time flying experience, and this was his first season being employed as a pilot for agricultural application operations. However, due to his working at a time when he normally would be asleep and a relatively long time since awakening, the pilot was most likely fatigued at the time of the accident.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while maneuvering at a low altitude in dark night conditions, which resulted in collision with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's fatigue due to his working at a time when he normally would be asleep and a relatively long time since awakening and the pilot's lack of total experience in the task environment.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB WPR13LA215
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 30 July 2020 | N901XV | A Farmer Service Corp. | 0 | Holtville, Imperial County, CA | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Oct-2022 07:44 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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