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| Date: | Friday 28 July 2000 |
| Time: | 05:40 |
| Type: |  Bell 47G-5 |
| Owner/operator: | Soilserv, Inc. |
| Registration: | N7885S |
| MSN: | 7873 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1967 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5116 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming VO-435-B1A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | King City, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | KIC |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot of the agricultural application helicopter took off at dawn and was en route to the spraying location beneath a 300-foot overcast cloud ceiling with 1/4 to 1/2-mile flight visibility. The helicopter flew into a fog bank and the pilot lost visual contact with the ground. He lowered the collective control and descended toward the ground to regain visual reference; however, the tail rotor contacted power transmission wires before he regained visual contact. He then lowered the collective further and reduced engine power to regain directional control and the helicopter made a hard impact with the ground in an upright attitude.
Probable Cause: The pilot's intentional flight into adverse weather which resulted in loss of visual reference and flight into power transmission wires and terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001212X21520&key=1
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 23 July 1996 | N7885S | Private | 0 | Lost Hills, CA | |
sub |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 19-Oct-2011 10:31 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:16 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:20 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
| 12-Dec-2017 18:57 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
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