No fatalities

29 Mar 2019: Bell 206 B — Hummingbirds Inc — Valley Center, CA

Valley Center, CA, United States

On 29 Mar 2019, a Bell 206 B operated by Hummingbirds Inc was involved in an aviation accident near Valley Center, CA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The ground crew’s attachment of the load fill hose to the helicopter without telling the pilot, which resulted in a loss of helicopter control during takeoff. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A helicopter rolled over and struck a truck during takeoff after the pilot was unaware that the groundcrew had connected the fill hose, causing the helicopter to rotate and impact the terrain.

Accident Overview

A helicopter accident occurred during a reloading operation for an agricultural spray flight. The helicopter was positioned on top of a truck's platform when the incident took place.

Sequence of Events

The helicopter pilot reported that while boarding the helicopter, he observed that the load fill hose was not connected to the helicopter. However, before the helicopter was started and without the pilot's knowledge, the groundcrew connected the hose. During takeoff, the helicopter rotated approximately 180 degrees to the right. The right skid of the helicopter struck the hood of the truck, causing the helicopter to roll onto its right side and impact the terrain.

Damage

The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor system. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the aircraft that would have precluded normal operation.

Additional Information

No further details regarding the aircraft type, registration, date, operator, location, or personnel were provided in the original report. The report did not mention any injuries, weather conditions, or ATC involvement.

Contributing factors

Ground crewPerformance/control parameters — Not attained/maintained