Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Gumboro Township, Delaware 19966
Monday, August 24, 2009 17:36 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The helicopter pilot stated that he was completing an aerial application flight due to deteriorating weather. After landing on a wet, elevated platform, he exited the running helicopter, which was a common company practice during refueling and reloading operations. Moments later, the helicopter yawed to the right, slid off the platform and landed on the mast, resulting in substantial damage to the rotor assembly, left side fuselage, and tail boom. The pilot later stated that he did not recall securing the flight controls before exiting the helicopter. A Federal Aviation Administration examination of the accident scene revealed that the flight control friction locks were not tight, and that the landing platform was not level. A representative of the helicopter manufacturer stated that there was nothing published by the company that restricted a pilot from exiting a helicopter while it was running. However, there is a note in the pilot’s operating handbook for the engine shutdown procedure that states, “Pilot -- remain at flight controls until rotor has come to a complete stop.” A representative of the National Agricultural Aviation Association stated that although the practice of hot refueling was common in the industry, the practice of exiting a running helicopter was not.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to secure the flight controls before exiting the running helicopter. Contributing to the accident was the operator’s practice of exiting the helicopter while it was still running.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/24/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1736 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Gumboro Township |
| Event State | DELAWARE |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 19966 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 384745N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0753633W |
| 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 | Pilot |
| 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 | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 10000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| 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) | 30 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Light and Variable |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.04 |
| 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) | 26231 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA/PHL FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 15 2009 12:41PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N98KR |
| NTSB Number | ERA09CA482 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | BELL |
| Aircraft Model | 206 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | L1 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 45683 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4150 |
| 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 | 7 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 6 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 6 |
| Airframe Hours | 7144 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Helicopter Applicators Inc |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1670 York Rd |
| Aircraft Owner City | Gettysburg |
| Aircraft Owner State | PA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 17325-8201 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Helicopter Applicators Inc |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Gettysburg |
| Operator State | PA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | NDBA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Agriculture |
| Operator Certificate Number | NDBA684G |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure City | Gumboro Township |
| Departure State | DE |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Gumboro Township |
| Destination State | DE |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 23 2009 3:18PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |