Bell 206 N275RA

Summary

On 28 July 2010 at about 22:45 local time, a Bell 206 registered N275RA, operated by Roma Air Corp, was involved in an accident near St. Olaf, Iowa, 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

28 July 2010 at 22:45

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Olaf, Iowa, United States

Coordinates

42.9131, -91.3408

Aircraft

Bell 206

Registration

N275RA

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Roma Air Corp

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. Olaf → St. Olaf

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

CEN10CA446

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from wires during the agricultural flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was performing agricultural spraying operations in the helicopter when the accident occurred. He stated that he was making a final "trim" pass along the northern boundary of the field and heading west into the afternoon sun. He said that as he finished his pass, he looked down at the spray boom to insure that the nozzles were shut off and when he looked back up he saw the wires that crossed his path as they contacted the helicopter. The helicopter became uncontrollable and impacted a field in a nose-low attitude. The pilot reported no preimpact difficulties with the helicopter.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.