Introduction
A helicopter conducting a spray operation encountered an engine malfunction, leading to a forced landing and substantial damage. The incident occurred while the helicopter was flying at an altitude of 15 feet above the ground.
Accident Details
While flying at 15 feet, the helicopter's engine began to sputter. The pilot increased collective pitch, which temporarily resolved the sputtering. However, the engine soon started running rough and resumed sputtering. The pilot initiated a forced landing. During the landing, the helicopter impacted the ground and rolled onto its side, causing substantial damage to the fuselage, tail boom, and rotor blades.
Findings
A postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed water contamination in the gascolator and the fuel tank. Additionally, water contamination was found in the company's bulk fuel supply tank. The pilot reported checking the helicopter's fuel tank three times before the flight; each sample contained water. Despite this, the pilot discarded the samples and continued to operate the helicopter with the contaminated fuel.