Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Clear Lake, Minnesota 55319
Friday, July 9, 2004 15:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A helicopter sustained substantial damage while attempting to land on a truck pad that was positioned in a field. The pilot reported he was starting to spray his fourth field when he observed that the fuel gauge on the helicopter was close to the "low/danger area." He returned to the truck to refuel. As he was approaching the truck pad for landing, "the helicopter started to settle and in spite of forward cyclic and full power, rotor RPM started to decay." He was not able to get the skids all the way on the pad and the helicopter fell backwards off the truck pad. The helicopter rolled to the right and nosed into the ground. It spun around and ended up facing the truck with its engine still running. The pilot shut down the helicopter and exited the aircraft.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot failed to maintain a proper glidepath to the landing zone. A factor was the truck pad.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/9/2004
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Clear Lake
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55319
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 471807N
Event Location Longitude 0955455W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16239
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 29 2004 1:02PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N10009
NTSB Number CHI04CA180
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Texas Helicopter
Aircraft Model M-74
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 79-032
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gary Oleen
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Gary Oleen
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 412 Birch Dr. S.E.
Operator City St. Cloud
Operator State MN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 56304
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) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Clear Lake
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Clear Lake
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 27 2004 5:08PM
User who most recently changed record DINC
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --