Bell OH-58A N9287U

Summary

On 1 April 2022 at about 19:15 local time, a Bell OH-58A registered N9287U, operated by American AG Aviation Inc, was involved in an accident near Merced, California, 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

1 April 2022 at 19:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Merced, California, United States

Coordinates

37.1894, -120.6893

Aircraft

Bell OH-58A

Registration

N9287U

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1971

Engines

1

Operator

American AG Aviation Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR22LA140

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to see and avoid wires while conducting an aerial application flight, which resulted in a wire strike and ground impact.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot in the helicopter reported that, he was conducting an agricultural aerial application flight. Before he started the spray operation, he overflew the field to identify obstacles. While approaching the northeast corner of the fields from the south, he overflew one set of wires, “ducked down” into the corner to spray, and pulled up as he approached the edge of the field. As he pulled up, he saw wires he had not seen before and tried to hit them with the wire cutter installed on the helicopter. The helicopter impacted the wires, descended, and impacted the ground. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.