Bell UH-1H accident near Coalinga, CA
On February 17, 2022, a Bell UH-1H (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Coalinga, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- February 17, 2022
- Place
- Coalinga, CA
- Aircraft
- Bell UH-1H · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 36.293°N, 120.245°W
- NTSB ID
- 20220216104646
Official records · WPR22FA098
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn February 16, 2022, about 2130 Pacific standard time, a Bell UH-1H helicopter, N72297, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Coalinga, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. The pilot had planned to conduct spray operations over five separate jobsites during night conditions. A ground crew supervisor and two others were supporting the operation. The ground crew operated out of two support trucks that were equipped with a radio for communicating with the pilot and had a landing pad mounted above the tanks containing fuel and chemicals. The pilot arrived at work at 1630 and subsequently departed for the first of the five planned flights. See figure 1. Figure 1. Google Earth image of the five job sites, the accident site, and the airstrip. Note: The white arrows denote the direction of travel. The red line indicates the location of large power distribution lines. The two insets show the proximity of the power distribution lines to the fourth job site and the accident site. The pilot arrived at the first job location about 1800. While at that job site, the pilot told the ground crew that the GPS was acting up. He completed operations at the first job site and then traveled about 5 miles north to the second job site. After completing operations there, the pilot traveled about 29 miles west to the third job site. He began operations at that job site but canceled the job about 2130due to increased wind, which caused difficult
Probable cause
The pilot’s loss of situational awareness for reasons that could not be determined given the available evidence, which led to controlled flight into terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to operate the helicopter while ill and fatigued.
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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.
