Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Chicago, Illinois
Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Location: WALKERTON, IN
Accident Number: CEN19LA309
Date & Time: 09/09/2019, 1330 EDT
Registration: N19TV
Aircraft: Bell 206
Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 137: Agricultural
On September 9, 2019, about 1330 eastern daylight time, a Bell 206 helicopter, N19TV, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Walkerton, Indiana. The commercial pilot was not injured. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Abbett Farms LLC under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight which operated without a flight plan.
According to information obtained by the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilot reported a partial loss of engine power. He conducted a forced landing near a residence where the helicopter touched down and rolled on its right side.
The helicopter was retained for further examination.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: Bell
Registration: N19TV
Model/Series: 206 B
Aircraft Category: Helicopter
Amateur Built: No
Operator: Abbett Farms Llc
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Agricultural Aircraft (137)
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site:
Condition of Light:
Observation Facility, Elevation: KSBN, 773 ft msl
Observation Time:
Distance from Accident Site: 15 Nautical Miles
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: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 None
Latitude, Longitude: 41.505000, -86.515556
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. (WNDU) Officials are investigating a Monday helicopter crash in Walkerton.
Police were called to the scene around 2:15 p.m.
The pilot, who has been identified as 41-year-old Nathan Schrock, was the only one in the rotorcraft. Police said he was spraying a nearby field when the engine failed.
In a Facebook message, Schrock said, "My only thought was to get it safely on the ground without hurting anyone else. I salvaged the best possible outcome I could with the scenario I was given."
The agricultural Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III landed and crashed into a driveway, damaging a parked pickup truck and livestock trailer as the helicopter fell down onto its side.
Schrock also said he was uninjured.
"[I] was able to crawl from the rotorcraft under my own power," he said.
Linda Roush, who said she lives about 3 miles away, heard about this crash on Facebook.
"I'm thinking, 'Oh, my gosh!' I am just glad nobody got hurt, because that's a mess," Roush said.
The Federal Aviation Administration collected facts on scene Monday evening and will start its investigation soon.
"We will find out hopefully here once we get the rotorcraft to a facility where we can actually do an inspection of the engine to find out what’s going on. ...We look at certain signatures -- how the rotorcraft may have landed, whether it was a hard landing, whether it was a soft landing. …There’s a lot of things that go into the investigation," Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector Dwayne Hudson said.
Police said Schrock refused medical treatment.
The National Transportation Safety Board will also be investigating.
Story and video ➤ https://www.wndu.com
