What happened
The pilot, holding a commercial certificate with 5,450 hours of total flight time, was operating a helicopter for agricultural purposes. The aircraft had just completed an aerial application treatment on a cotton field. Following this operation, the pilot navigated the helicopter toward a designated staging area.
While attempting to pass beneath a set of high-voltage power lines, one of the main rotor blades made contact with a wire. This collision caused the helicopter to lose control and impact soft terrain. The aircraft came to rest inverted adjacent to the power line infrastructure. A fire ignited following the impact and consumed most of the helicopter structure.
The investigation
Examination of the accident site revealed that the helicopter had come to rest upside down near the high-voltage lines. The post-impact fire was extensive, destroying the majority of the airframe. No mechanical failure of the rotor system prior to contact was identified; the damage was consistent with a strike against an external object.
Findings
The primary factor in this accident was the main rotor blade contacting a wire while the aircraft was in flight under power lines. The pilot's decision to fly beneath high-voltage infrastructure without adequate clearance resulted in the collision and subsequent inversion of the helicopter.