ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 285861
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| Date: | Friday 11 July 2008 |
| Time: | 14:45 LT |
| Type: |  Bell 47G-3B |
| Owner/operator: | Reabe Spraying Service |
| Registration: | N73995 |
| MSN: | 2786 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1963 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming VO-435-AIF |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Port Edwards, Wisconsin -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Port Edwards, WI |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The commercial helicopter pilot reported that he was spraying a cranberry field. During a swath run, numerous bees entered the cockpit via the vent window. He was stung in the left arm twice, and as he tried to remove the bees, he inadvertently pitched the helicopter up. The helicopter climbed to about 35 feet above ground level and the rotor RPM decayed, and the airspeed went to about 30 MPH. The pilot attempted to return to level flight and added power, but he realized that the rotor RPM had decayed too much for a normal recovery. He reported that he "aggressively flared in an effort to reduce my groundspeed." During the flare, the tail boom struck the ground and then the main rotor struck the tail boom. The helicopter yawed right and impacted the terrain.
Probable Cause: The pilot failed to maintain control of the helicopter when he inadvertently flared the helicopter and the rotor rpm decayed as a result of sustaining bee stings during an aerial application flight. Contributing to the accidnet included the bees and the low altitude.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CHI08CA192
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Oct-2022 16:13 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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