No fatalities

31 Jul 2011: GARLICK HELICOPTERS INC OH-58C — Kristin E Tellijohn — Rushford, MN

Rushford, MN, United States

On 31 Jul 2011, a GARLICK HELICOPTERS INC OH-58C operated by Kristin E Tellijohn was involved in an aviation accident near Rushford, MN. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's attention was diverted by horses located near the field, leading to a failure to maintain adequate clearance from the power line. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

An aerial application flight ended in a wire strike and ground impact after the pilot became distracted by animals near the field.

What happened

On July 31, 2011, an OH-58C helicopter, registration N82855, was performing an aerial application flight near Rushford, Minnesota. During the spray run, the aircraft struck a power line that was positioned perpendicular to the flight path. The impact with the wire was followed by a ground impact, which caused substantial damage to the fuselage. There were no injuries resulting from the accident.

At the time of the event, weather conditions were characterized by Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) with a visibility of 10 statute miles and winds from 250 degrees at 07 knots.

Probable cause

The pilot's attention was diverted by horses located near the field, leading to a failure to maintain adequate clearance from the power line.

Contributing factors

Causes

Pilot

Other contributing factors

Contributed to outcome