Accident Overview
A Bell 206B helicopter sustained substantial damage to its fuselage and tail boom during a takeoff attempt following refueling and chemical loading. The incident occurred while the pilot was preparing for the ninth aerial agricultural application flight of the day.
Sequence of Events
Ground personnel added fuel and chemical to the helicopter. The normal refueling procedure required one person in the fuel truck and one person on the ground near the helicopter. When the fuel tank was full, the person at the helicopter gave a "thumbs up" to the truck operator, who then turned off the valve. After disconnecting the hose, the ground person would give another "thumbs up" to the pilot, who should verify that the hose had been disconnected. When both chemical and fuel were loaded, the number of hand signals increased.
During the accident sequence, the pilot saw the ground person give a "thumbs up" and turn away from the helicopter. The pilot assumed the hose had been disconnected but did not visually verify. As he lifted the helicopter to a hover, it pitched down, rolled to the right, and contacted the ground.
Findings
The ground person reported that he "mistakenly gave the all clear signal" before the hose was disconnected. The pilot did not visually confirm the disconnection before attempting to hover.
Damage
The fuselage and tail boom of the helicopter were substantially damaged.