Bell 47G-3B-1 N1390X

Summary

On 15 July 2008 at about 05:30 local time, a Bell 47G-3B-1 registered N1390X, operated by Slykerman Ag Aviation, Inc., was involved in an accident near Shafter, California, 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

15 July 2008 at 05:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Shafter, California, United States

Coordinates

35.4528, -119.3425

Aircraft

Bell 47G-3B-1

Registration

N1390X

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Slykerman Ag Aviation, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Shafter → Shafter

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX08CA229

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate altitude while maneuvering. Contributing factors were the failure of the helicopter's lights during the night flight and the effect of that failure on the pilot's visual perception.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that a few minutes after taking off for a nighttime agricultural spray flight over an alfalfa field, the ground illumination lights in his helicopter went out. At the time, he was descending and maneuvering close to the ground on a spray run. The pilot reported that he did not see the field before impacting it with the spray boom. The helicopter rolled over and was substantially damaged.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.