Bell 47G-2 N6768D

Summary

On 8 July 2009 at about 18:00 local time, a Bell 47G-2 registered N6768D, operated by Titus J. Headings, was involved in an accident near Turlock, 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

8 July 2009 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Turlock, California, United States

Coordinates

37.4703, -120.9006

Aircraft

Bell 47G-2

Registration

N6768D

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Titus J. Headings

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Turlock → Turlock

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09CA333

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain rotor RPM while maneuvering at a low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while in a turn to reverse direction after completing a downwind spray run, "I noticed my RPMs getting low. As I was coming back down into the field I was rolling on throttle but could not get RPMs where I wanted them. I was hoping for the wind to help me, but there wasn't much wind at the time." The pilot stated that he pushed the cyclic forward to get airspeed, followed by pumping the collective to try to get power back. "I did this all the way until I hit the ground." The pilot reported that the helicopter impacted the ground in a flat, level attitude at about 40 miles per hour before skidding 30 feet and coming to a stop in an upright position.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.