14 CFR Part 137: Agricultural
Accident occurred Friday, April 27, 2012 in Hershey, PA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 10/15/2012
Aircraft: BELL 206B, registration: N16EP
Injuries: 1 Serious.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot reported that before the accident flight, there was a trainee pilot in the agricultural application helicopter who preferred no friction on the controls. Once the trainee pilot left, the accident pilot forgot to adjust the control friction. During the accident flight, the helicopter was spraying a wheat field at 55 mph and about 10 feet above the ground. The pilot let go of the collective to adjust the helicopter's computer. The collective subsequently lowered and the helicopter impacted terrain, coming to rest on its side, with the tail boom separated. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have prevented normal operation.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's diverted attention while performing aerial application at low altitude, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to adjust the control friction to the position he was accustomed.
The pilot reported that prior to the accident flight, there was a trainee pilot in the agricultural application helicopter, who preferred no friction on the controls. Once the trainee left, the pilot forgot to adjust the control friction. During the accident flight, the helicopter was spraying a wheat field at 55 mph, about 10 feet above the ground. The pilot let go of the collective to adjust the helicopter's "Crophawk" computer. The collective subsequently lowered and the helicopter impacted terrain. The pilot added that there were no preimact mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that during the impact, the tailboom separated and the helicopter came to rest on its right side.
According to Lawn Fire Dept. Chief Jim Hess, a helicopter crashed while spraying agriculture pesticide and fungicide on a farm field off of Gingrich Road in S. Londonderry Twp., Lebanon County, near the Lawn Service Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. According to Hess, the pilot extricated himself, walked from the crash, and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Emergency personnel who were in the helicopter's spray-zone had to be decontaminated.
04/27/2012 DAN GLEITER, The Patriot-News
PALMYRA — WNEP-TV’s former news helicopter crashed Friday while spraying herbicide on a wheat field in central Pennsylvania. Authorities said the chopper crashed when a wind gust caused the pilot to lose control. South Londonderry Township police Chief Jeffrey Arnold said the pilot walked away. The Lebanon Daily News said Green was taken to a hospital and was listed in good condition Friday afternoon. The helicopter sustained major damage, the chief said.
Police said 59-year-old pilot, Thomas Green of Gettysburg, told them he was flying too close to the ground when the helicopter was hit by a wind gust Friday morning. Police said that caused the right skid of the helicopter to catch on the ground, flipping the aircraft. WNEP reported on Friday the helicopter was the same one known for decades as Skycam 16. The station reported it stopped using the helicopter a few years ago.
The pilot, Thomas Green, 59, of Gettysburg, told police he was flying about five feet off the ground spraying a farm field belonging to James Hershey of Elizabethtown about 8:30 a.m. when he got too close to the ground and the landing gear caught, causing the helicopter to flip over to its side. The rotor blades broke off, and the tail separated from the rest of the craft, police said.
Police chief Jeffrey Arnold said gusty winds might have been a factor. The FAA has been brought in to do an investigation.
Arnold
said the Bell Jet Ranger Rotocraft was owned by Ag Air, LLC, of
Thomasville, York County. He said it is a total loss. Green was lucky to
walk away from the crash relatively unscathed, Arnold said. He was
taken to Hershey Medical Center for observation.
According to
Lawn Fire Dept. Chief Jim Hess, the pilot was able to get out of the
helicopter and walk away from the crash. Emergency personnel who were in
the helicopter’s spray-zone had to be decontaminated.
Arnold said the Lebanon Haz-Mat team was brought in, but the herbicides being used should cause no problem to the environment.
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