Bell 47-G4 N9017N

Summary

On 13 June 2003 at about 16:56 local time, a Bell 47-G4 registered N9017N was involved in an accident near Porterville, 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.

Date

13 June 2003 at 16:56

Classification

Accident

Location

Porterville, California, United States

Coordinates

36.0297, -119.0628

Aircraft

Bell 47-G4

Registration

N9017N

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Porterville → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX03LA197

1 person died.

loss of control for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While en route to a field for an aerial pesticide application, the helicopter pitched nose down and impacted the ground. Two roads ran perpendicular to the accident site; one ran east/west, and the other ran north/south. The pilot departed from a service truck in a southwest direction. The destination field was 2 miles southwest of the service truck. As the pilot crossed the east/west road, he made a wide, left turn, traveling northbound. At the intersection of the two roads, the helicopter maneuvered up and over power lines that were parallel to the east/west road. The helicopter turned left about 90 degrees (west), followed by another left turn of 90 degrees (south). The nose suddenly pitched down, and the helicopter impacted the ground. The wreckage site was 1/2 block north from the intersection of the two roads. Post examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.