Bell 47G-5 N1503L

Summary

On 12 August 2023 at about 13:50 local time, a Bell 47G-5 registered N1503L, operated by Triple F Flying Inc, was involved in an accident near Mifflinville, Pennsylvania, 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

12 August 2023 at 13:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Mifflinville, Pennsylvania, United States

Coordinates

41.0046, -76.2881

Aircraft

Bell 47G-5

Registration

N1503L

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1971

Engines

1

Operator

Triple F Flying Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA332

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to see and avoid powerlines during an aerial application flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the aerial application helicopter departed from a chemical truck staging area to a nearby corn field, where he was performing his eighth application flight of the day. There were no witnesses to the accident and the pilot was fatally injured. The accident site was located near the edge of the cornfield, which was bordered by a road, trees, and a powerline. The helicopter’s spray boom and one landing gear skid were separated from the fuselage and found in a tree entangled with the power lines. The helicopter’s fuselage, engine, and fuel tanks were consumed by a postimpact fire. Given this information, it is most likely that the helicopter impacted the powerline while maneuvering at low level above the corn field. The pilot had received training about 13 years before the accident to act as pilot-in-command of aerial application operations. The training program included a skills test to demonstrate safe low-level maneuvering and how to approach the working area to locate obstacles. The extent to which the pilot had conducted a preflight assessment of the corn field for obstacles and was aware of the location of the wires could not be determined. A postaccident autopsy of the pilot’s remains identified cardiovascular disease that would have increased his risk of experiencing a sudden impairing or incapacitating cardiac event, such as arrhythmia, chest pain, or heart attack. The autopsy did not provide specific evidence that such an event occurred; however, such an event would also not leave evidence readily identifiable by an autopsy if it occurred shortly before death. Therefore, whether the pilot was incapacitated to some degree by a cardiac event that preceded the wire strike could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.