Plane Crash List

Bell 47G-5 N7914S

7 July 1998 · Salinas, California, United States · Minor injuries

Summary

On 7 July 1998 at about 15:00 local time, a Bell 47G-5 registered N7914S was involved in an accident near Salinas, California, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 15:00
Classification
Accident
Location
Salinas, California, United States
Coordinates
36.7590, -121.6508
Aircraft
Bell 47G-5
Registration
N7914S
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
LAX98LA225

People

1 person had minor injuries.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 0 0 1 0

Probable cause

The failure of the pilot to maintain clearance with the telephone lines.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was spraying a field approximately 10 feet agl parallel to telephone lines. The main rotor blades clipped the telephone lines and the helicopter descended into the ground. The skids became embedded in a row of irrigation pipes and the aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the aircraft prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Bell 47 accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
28 May 1998 Bell 47G
N182JR
Bunnell, Florida, United States Wing and Rotor International No injuries -
29 Jul 1998 Bell 47-D1
N1016A
Monticello, Mississippi, United States Paul M. Trost No injuries -
10 Jun 1998 Bell 47G
N73284
Le Center, Minnesota, United States - Serious injuries -
17 Aug 1998 Bell 47G
N2795A
Monette, Arkansas, United States - No injuries -
20 Apr 1998 Bell 47G-3B-1
N80SD
Sedro Wooley, Washington, United States Helfenberger, Daniel, E. No injuries -
30 Jul 1998 Bell 47G-2
N90529
Plainview, Minnesota, United States - No injuries -

All 1,633 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
1 Oct 1998 Cessna 152
N49770
Avalon, California, United States Orange County Flight Center Fatal 1
5 Oct 1998 Grumman TS-2A
N416DF
Banning, California, United States - Fatal 1
15 Aug 1998 North American NAVION
N8820H
Salinas, California, United States - Fatal 2
21 Aug 1998 Bell 206B
N223HA
Salinas, California, United States
no coordinates
- No injuries -
21 Aug 1998 Robinson R22B
N2335Q
Ramona, California, United States Civic Helicopters No injuries -
27 Aug 1998 Aerospatiale SA316B
N605RA
Porterville, California, United States U.s. Dept. of the Interior No injuries -

All 170,864 records in United States