Garlick OH-58A+ N132HD

Summary

On 27 July 2022 at about 19:15 local time, a Garlick OH-58A+ registered N132HD, operated by Triple F Flying Inc, was involved in an accident near Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 July 2022 at 19:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, United States

Coordinates

40.9861, -76.5067

Aircraft

Garlick OH-58A+

Registration

N132HD

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

Triple F Flying Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Buckhorn → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA341

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and visual lookout, which resulted in impact with a powerline.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an aerial application flight while spraying a corn field, the helicopter’s tail section struck a powerline. The pilot did not see the powerline, which crossed over the middle of the cornfield perpendicular to the spray pass he was performing, but he knew what he had struck as soon as the helicopter came into contact with it. He had already begun to pull up out of the field when the helicopter struck the powerline and was still moving forward at approximately 50 mph. As the helicopter slowed and he reached about 200’ agl, the helicopter began a yaw to the right that developed into an uncontrollable spin in the same direction. As the helicopter began spinning faster and faster, the pilot rolled off throttle to minimize the torque induced rotations. During the touchdown, the helicopter impacted in an approximately level attitude, and then rolled over on its right side, and was substantially damaged. The pilot noted that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation and that the accident could have been avoided if more “field recon” procedures were done to be certain that powerlines are avoided.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.