Texas M-74 N10009

Summary

On 9 July 2004 at about 20:30 local time, a Texas M-74 registered N10009, operated by Gary Oleen, was involved in an accident near Clear Lake, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 July 2004 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Clear Lake, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

47.3019, -95.9153

Aircraft

Texas M-74

Registration

N10009

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Gary Oleen

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Clear Lake → Clear Lake

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI04CA180

Nobody was injured.

The pilot failed to maintain a proper glidepath to the landing zone. A factor was the truck pad.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A helicopter sustained substantial damage while attempting to land on a truck pad that was positioned in a field. The pilot reported he was starting to spray his fourth field when he observed that the fuel gauge on the helicopter was close to the "low/danger area." He returned to the truck to refuel. As he was approaching the truck pad for landing, "the helicopter started to settle and in spite of forward cyclic and full power, rotor RPM started to decay." He was not able to get the skids all the way on the pad and the helicopter fell backwards off the truck pad. The helicopter rolled to the right and nosed into the ground. It spun around and ended up facing the truck with its engine still running. The pilot shut down the helicopter and exited the aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.