Tuesday, July 04, 2017

Hughes 269A, N269JB: Accident occurred July 29, 2016 in Morris, Stevens County, Minnesota

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Minneapolis, Minnesota

Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Docket And Docket Items - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

http://registry.faa.gov/=N269JB 

NTSB Identification: CEN16LA303
14 CFR Part 137: Agricultural
Accident occurred Friday, July 29, 2016 in Morris, MN
Probable Cause Approval Date: 06/20/2017
Aircraft: HUGHES 269A, registration: N269JB
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

During the aerial application flight, the commercial pilot was flying at 45 knots when he looked at his navigation system to ensure that he was on course. He felt the helicopter slow down and looked up to see that he had descended into the soybean field. The helicopter rotated 180° and came to rest on its right side, resulting in substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the wreckage did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the helicopter.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain due to his distraction by the navigation system.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On July 29, 2016, about 900 central daylight time, a Hughes 269A helicopter, N269JB, was substantially damaged when it impacted crops and the ground near Morris, Minnesota. The pilot was not injured. The aerial application flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight. The local flight departed about 0800.

According to the pilot, he was applying fungicide to a soybean field and was on his 4th load. He was flying to the east at 45 knots when he looked down at his navigation system, as he was maneuvering the helicopter for a spray pass, to ensure that he was on course. The helicopter felt as if it was being pulled towards the ground and slowed down. When the pilot corrected the tail of the helicopter entangled in the crop. The helicopter rotated 180°, descended to the ground, and came to rest on its right side resulting in substantial damage to the main rotor and the fuselage.

The pilot stated that he used the DynaNav navigation system to control for drift and ensure the proper overlap of the product he was applying. He stated that he had flown with the system several times but was not overly familiar with it.

NTSB Identification: CEN16LA303
14 CFR Part 137: Agricultural
Accident occurred Friday, July 29, 2016 in Morris, MN
Aircraft: HUGHES 269A, registration: N269JB
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On July 29, 2016, about 900 central daylight time, a Hughes 269A helicopter, N269JB,was substantially damaged when it impacted crops and the ground near Morris, Minnesota. The pilot was not injured. The aerial application flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight plan had been filed for the flight. The local flight departed about 0800.

According to the pilot, he was applying fungicide to a soybean field and was on his 4th load. He looked down at his navigation system as he was maneuvering the helicopter for a spray pass. The helicopter felt as if it was being pulled towards the ground and when the pilot corrected the tail of the helicopter entangled in the crop. The helicopter descended to the ground and came to rest on its right side resulting in substantial damage to the main rotor and the fuselage.

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