Bell 47G-5 accident near Mifflinville, PA
On August 12, 2023, a Bell 47G-5 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Mifflinville, PA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 12, 2023
- Place
- Mifflinville, PA
- Aircraft
- Bell 47G-5 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.005°N, 76.288°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230813192850
Official records · ERA23LA332
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On August 12, 2023, about 0950 eastern daylight time, a Bell 47G-5 helicopter, N1503L, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Mifflinville, Pennsylvania. The pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. The pilot’s brother, who was also a helicopter pilot, stated that on the day of the accident, he was operating a truck with chemicals in it and the pilot was flying the aerial application helicopter. The pilot had already made about seven application flights that morning and had just taken off from near the truck with the eighth load. The truck was parked in a field about 2 miles away from the corn field that the pilot was spraying. The pilot’s brother subsequently received a telephone call and learned that the helicopter had crashed. As he was driving up to the accident site, the pilot’s brother noticed power lines down in the street; he also noticed the power lines entangled with the helicopter’s skid, and the spraying boom located in a tree by the road. The accident site was in the corn field about 20 yards from the road. The helicopter came to rest on its left side and a postaccident fire consumed the engine and fuel tanks. The tail rotor was found about 20 yards from the main wreckage. The spray boom and one skid were found about 30 yards away in a tree entangled in the powerlines. The pilot completed an aerial application training program and was signed off to act as pilot in command of aerial applications on July 3, 2010. The training program consisted of a skills t
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to see and avoid powerlines during an aerial application flight.
More accidents in PA
- Boeing B-737-300, Sep 8, 1994
- Boeing 757, Sep 11, 2001
- British Aerospace J-3101, May 21, 2000
- Bell UH-1N, May 29, 2008
- Beech A36, Jul 30, 1989
Browse: Pennsylvania · 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.
