Arrow Falcon Exporters OH-58+ N831SD

Summary

On 6 November 2007 at about 16:55 local time, a Arrow Falcon Exporters OH-58+ registered N831SD was involved in an accident near Cougar, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 November 2007 at 16:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Cougar, Washington, United States

Coordinates

46.0967, -122.2628

Aircraft

Arrow Falcon Exporters OH-58+

Registration

N831SD

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cougar → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA08LA020

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a nearby tree while performing a hover-climb. Factors include his failure to maintain clearance from his long-line cable, and his likely diverted attention to the entanglement of the cable on the helicopter's wire strike mechanism.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After lifting off from a dirt pad, the pilot maneuvered the helicopter into a seven to ten foot hover over the fertilizer bucket that was on the end of his long-line. Once centered over the bucket, the pilot began to climb straight up in a hover. As he lifted the bucket off the ground, the helicopter's nose dipped aggressively down, and the pilot became aware that the long-line was caught on the left side of the lower wire strike mechanism. The pilot attempted to put the bucket back on the ground, but the helicopter again dipped forward and to the right. As the pilot continued to attempt to maintain the position of the helicopter while he put the bucket back on the ground, it impacted a nearby Noble fir tree, and fell to the terrain below. According to the pilot and the Federal Aviation Administration Inspector who responded to the scene, there were no anomalies or malfunctions associated with the helicopter's flight controls, engine, or airframe.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.