Friday, April 29, 2022

Bell OH-58A Kiowa, N281SP: Accident occurred April 26, 2022 in Oakland, Orange County, Florida

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.

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

Additional Participating Entity: 
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Orlando, Florida

Coastal Air Service Inc 


Location: Oakland, Florida
Accident Number: ERA22LA209
Date and Time: April 26, 2022, 18:45 Local
Registration: N281SP
Aircraft: GARLICK HELICOPTERS INC OH58A+ 
Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 137: Agricultural

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: GARLICK HELICOPTERS INC
Registration: N281SP
Model/Series: OH-58A+ 
Aircraft Category: Helicopter
Amateur Built:
Operator: 
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Agricultural aircraft (137)
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: 
Condition of Light:
Observation Facility, Elevation:
Observation Time:
Distance from Accident Site:
Temperature/Dew Point:
Lowest Cloud Condition: 
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: / ,
Lowest Ceiling: 
Visibility:
Altimeter Setting: 
Type of Flight Plan Filed:
Departure Point: 
Destination:

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: 
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 None 
Latitude, Longitude: 28.56966,-81.64492 

Rotorcraft crashed under unknown circumstances into Lake Apopka.

Date: 26-APR-22
Time: 22:45:00Z
Regis#: N281SP
Aircraft Make: BELL
Aircraft Model: OH58A
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: AERIAL APPLICATION
Flight Phase: MANEUVERING (MNV)
Operation: 137
Aircraft Operator: COASTAL AIR SERVICE
City: OAKLAND
State: FLORIDA




ORANGE COUNTY, Florida — Crews recovering a helicopter that crashed in Lake Apopka Tuesday said they discovered a second mystery copter in the water Wednesday morning.

Deputies said the second helicopter also went down into the lake on Tuesday later in the day.

Deputies said the pilot of the second helicopter is safe, and that the FAA and NTSB have been notified about the discovery.

Investigators said the pilot in Tuesday’s first crash was brought to shore by a private boat and that they were the only person on board the aircraft at the time of the crash.

1 comment:

  1. This bird was bought from the US Air Force by the Indianapolis State Police and assigned N134SP, then later bought by the Ag company referenced here. Interesting they kept the same SP ending in the tail#. Also, another interesting item of note is an old undated ad on Controller advertising this one and a sister ship of unknown SN#:

    https://www.aircraft.com/aircraft/1106343/n281sp-1973-bell-oh-58a-plus

    I wonder if the company bought both and both happened to crash in the same lake. I have family in that area and there are orange groves all around, what's left of them anyway with all the insane Orlando area growth.

    ReplyDelete