Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Oroville, Washington 98844
Monday, July 4, 2005 17:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that he was spraying cherries when the engine suddenly stopped. He attempted an autorotation, but the main rotor impacted cherry trees. The helicopter's main bubble was shattered, and the skids and frame were bent. Postimpact examination of the aircraft, by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector, revealed that the throttle cable's housing had broken, which permitted the engine's RPM to decay to the idle position.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the throttle cable housing, which permitted the engine's RPM to decay to the idle position. Contributing factors were the trees and the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/4/2005
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Oroville
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98844
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 485732N
Event Location Longitude 1192443W
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 Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 160
Weather Observation Facility ID OMK
Elevation of weather observation facility 1305
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 32
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
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) 19282
NTSB Notification Source FAA NW ROC
NTSB Notification Date Jul 5 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 28 2006 12:35PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Spokane, WA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N38926
NTSB Number SEA05LA138
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 None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Bell
Aircraft Model 47G-2A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number N.A.H. 1957-1
Certified Max Gross Weight 2600
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 3
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 50
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Waitsburg Helicopter Service
Aircraft Owner Street Address Rt 1, P.O. Box 658
Aircraft Owner City Waitsburg
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99361
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 0S7
Departure City Oroville
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1730
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 0S7
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering - aerial application
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 15 2005 6:02PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --