Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Jacksonville, Illinois 62650
Sunday, July 22, 2001 11:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that he believed the helicopter lost [engine] power which resulted in the accident. He said that he did not have time to notice the engine gauges prior to the impact, due to his close proximity to the ground while conducting corn pollination. He said that he had previously flown the helicopter approximately 1.5 hours and had refueled prior to the accident flight. The pilot said that he was approximately 100 yards into the field, on a straight flight path, and at an airspeed of about 30 to 35 knots when the accident occurred. An examination of the helicopter revealed no anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The helicopter's loss of engine power for undetermined reasons while maneuvering close to the ground, and the low altitude and low airspeed. A factor relating to this accident was the pilot not being able to get into autorotation.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/22/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City JACKSONVILLE
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 62650
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1347 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 135
Weather Observation Facility ID IJX
Elevation of weather observation facility 624
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 33
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 26
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.88
Density Altitude (feet) 2955
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11728
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 22 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1932
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2002 12:16PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8733F
NTSB Number CHI01LA223
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Hughes
Aircraft Model 269A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 22-0052
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 9 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 140
Airframe Hours 2380
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JAMES A. NERGENAH
Aircraft Owner Street Address 14177 MAXWELL HALL ROAD
Aircraft Owner City LOAMI
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 62661
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name DENNIS L. JARMAN
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 1629 SANDUSKY ROAD
Operator City JACKSONVILLE
Operator State IL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 62650
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City JACKSONVILLE
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1110
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering - aerial application
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 2 2002 2:03PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --