Bell UH-1H N6258Z

Summary

On 21 February 1999 at about 23:10 local time, a Bell UH-1H registered N6258Z was involved in an accident near Glenn, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 February 1999 at 23:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Glenn, California, United States

Coordinates

39.5998, -122.0194

Aircraft

Bell UH-1H

Registration

N6258Z

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX99LA108

1 person died.

An inflight loss of control for undetermined reasons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was in the process of finishing an aerial application run over an almond orchard when it collided with the ground in a nose down attitude. The pilot told the company owner and his family members that the flight controls 'went away' and he could not overpower the flight controls as the helicopter descended. The owner of the helicopter company stated that during the spray run the pilot flew up and over a powerline which was approximately 100 feet from the orchard. He reported that the pilot told him he heard a noise as he flew over the powerlines and then experienced the loss of control. Detailed examination and functional tests of various components of the helicopter's control systems failed to find any evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction. The tail stinger of the helicopter and an exemplar sample of the copper powerline wire was examined in a laboratory and it was determined that there was no wire transfer marks on the tail stinger. The pilot was transported to a hospital after the accident where tests later determined he had fractured his back. He died during a surgical procedure 2 days after the accident. The pilot held an airline transport certificate with over 32,000 hours of flight time, 28,000 of which were in helicopters.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.