Bell 47-G5 N1309X
12 January 1996 · Pope Valley, California, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 12 January 1996 at about 00:00 local time, a Bell 47-G5 registered N1309X was involved in an accident near Pope Valley, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 00:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Pope Valley, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 38.6695, -122.4391
- Aircraft
- Bell 47-G5
- Registration
- N1309X
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 137: Agricultural
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial Application
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX96LA093
People
1 person died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
the pilot misjudged the clearance between the broadcaster and the truck resulting in the broadcaster's cables becoming entangled with the truck.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot had hovered the helicopter over the loading platform and lowered the broadcaster (bucket) onto the platform for reloading. After the ground crew loaded the broadcaster, the pilot turned the helicopter and began to depart. The broadcaster cables became entangled with the truck and the helicopter descended, uncontrolled, and crashed.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Bell 47 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Oct 1996 | Bell 47G-3B-1 | Fillmore, Utah, United States | Usfs | Fatal | 1 |
| 7 Oct 1996 | Bell 47G-5A | King City, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Sep 1996 | Bell 47G-3B-1 | Rangely, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Aug 1996 | Bell 47G-4A | Adel, Georgia, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 29 Sep 1996 | Bell 47G-3B-1 | Borinquen | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Dec 1996 | Bell 47G | Pendleton, Oregon, United States | Wildhorse Helicopters, Inc. | Fatal | 2 |
All 1,633 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Mar 1996 | Maule M-6-235 | Bishop, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 1996 | Cessna 210A | Truckee, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 8 Mar 1996 | Cessna 152 | Santa Paula, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 3 Oct 1996 | Piper PA-28-140 | Plymouth, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 13 Mar 1996 | Cessna T210M | Grass Valley, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Mar 1996 | Cessna 172L | Napa, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |