Bell UH-1H accident near Glenn, CA
On February 21, 1999, a Bell UH-1H (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Glenn, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- February 21, 1999
- Place
- Glenn, CA
- Aircraft
- Bell UH-1H · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 39.600°N, 122.019°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001205X00193
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 21, 1999, at 1510 hours Pacific standard time, a Bell UH-1H helicopter, N6258Z, collided with the ground following a pilot report of an in-flight control system failure while conducting an aerial spraying operation near Glenn, California. The airline transport pilot was seriously injured during the accident sequence, and died in the hospital during a surgical procedure on February 23, 1999. The helicopter, owned and operated by Avag, Inc., was destroyed during the crash sequence. The aircraft was operating under 14 CFR Part 137 of the Federal Aviation Regulations when the accident occurred. The helicopter had departed a dirt-landing zone after being serviced with spraying chemicals moments before the crash. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and a flight plan was not filed for the flight. The pilot told his son, who visited him in the hospital, that the helicopter kept banking in one direction and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He reported that his father said he lost control of the "systems" on the helicopter, that it was a mechanical failure of some sort, and that all of a sudden, the helicopter started veering to the right and as he tried to manipulate the controls, he was unable to change the direction of the helicopter's movement. In his written report, the owner of the company reported that the pilot was just finishing a spray run on an almond orchard when the helicopter impacted the ground in a nose low attitude. He stated that there was a powerline approximately 5 to 8 tree rows (approximately 100 feet) in
Probable cause
An inflight loss of control for undetermined reasons.
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Browse: California · Bell aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
