Croman SH-3H N611CK

Summary

On 1 September 2012 at about 22:15 local time, a Croman SH-3H registered N611CK, operated by Croman Corp, was involved in an accident near Covelo, California, United States. 2 people were 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

1 September 2012 at 22:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Covelo, California, United States

Coordinates

39.7872, -123.2597

Aircraft

Croman SH-3H

Registration

N611CK

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

Croman Corp

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Fire Fighting

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Covelo → Covelo

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12CA387

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a tree during an aerial firefighting flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was involved in firefighting operations. The pilot flying was in the left seat, and the senior pilot was in the right seat. The pilot completed numerous water drops on the fire during a 2-hour period. The helicopter was making its second drop in an area of steep terrain, which was about 1,000 feet lower in elevation than the lake the pilots were using for a water source. Due to the smoke, the visibility was about 1/2 mile. All five main rotor blades made contact with a snag (typically the remnants of a tree such as the trunk and/or main branches without most of its foliage), and were substantially damaged; the operator pointed out that the snag was similar in color to the smoke. The senior pilot took control of the helicopter, climbed, and made an uneventful landing near the fill point.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.