Bell OH-58A N176SA

Summary

On 19 July 2024 at about 17:08 local time, a Bell OH-58A registered N176SA was involved in an accident near Hegins, Pennsylvania, 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

19 July 2024 at 17:08

Classification

Accident

Location

Hegins, Pennsylvania, United States

Coordinates

40.6652, -76.4834

Aircraft

Bell OH-58A

Registration

N176SA

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2011

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Red Lion → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA24LA314

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate pre-flight and in-flight planning, which resulted in the helicopter striking a wire hazard during an aerial application flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot explained that he flew a perimeter reconnaissance of the fields designated for fungicide application with the helicopter. He identified hazards to flight (wires, houses, terrain features, wind direction, etc.) and then completed applications over three of the assigned areas before beginning a fourth. As the pilot aligned the helicopter for an application pass and descended to “spray height” he detected a “loosely strung” powerline across his path that sagged to about “4-5 feet above the height of the corn.” The pilot attempted to climb the helicopter over the wire but was unsuccessful. Immediately after contact with the wire, the pilot experienced a “very rough” vertical vibration and decaying rotor rpm, so he initiated a power-on autorotation for landing. At touchdown on upsloping terrain, the helicopter pitched forward, the pilot corrected with an aft cyclic input, the helicopter entered a “dynamic rollover” to its right and came to rest on its right side substantially damaged. The pilot reported that he was uninjured in the accident, and that there were no preimpact mechanical anomalies with the helicopter preventing normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.