Bell 206BIII EC-FVS Agricultural Spraying Accident in Lorca

Incident Overview and Aircraft Details On 10 October 2011, a Bell Helicopter Textron 206BIII helicopter, registration EC-FVS, operated by Rotorsun, S. L., was engaged in commercial agricultural spraying work. The aircraft was powered by a single Rolls-Royce 250-C20J engine. The pilot in command was a 41-year-old commercial helicopter pilot with 7,443 total flight hours, including 7,234 hours on the type. The helicopter had accumulated 9,867 flight hours and held a valid airworthiness certificate until 9 September 2012. Its last maintenance check was performed on 23 August 2011, at 9,682 airframe hours and 7,510 engine hours. ## Sequence of Events At 11:00 local time, the helicopter landed at a recently plowed farm in Pozo de la Higuera, Lorca (Murcia), to load a liquid crop protection product into its Simplex Modex 4900 spraying system. The aircraft's weight and center of gravity were within limits, and weather conditions were suitable for visual flight, with good visibility and light winds. The pilot initiated a high-speed takeoff, attempting to gain forward speed while maintaining a gentle climb. Shortly after takeoff began, a cloud of dust raised by the rotor downwash enveloped the helicopter, obscuring the pilot's external visual references. The pilot immediately opened the emergency dump valve for the crop protection product, which emptied quickly, and attempted to gain altitude rapidly. The helicopter struck the ground, and the pilot shut off the fuel supply and electrical power before evacuating without injury. ## Investigation Findings The investigation concluded that the dust cloud generated by the rotor downwash rapidly enveloped the helicopter and prevented the pilot from maintaining external visual references. The sudden and unexpected loss of visual references prevented the pilot from keeping the helicopter stable. The pilot's immediate actions—increasing collective power and dumping the crop protection product—could not prevent contact with the terrain. The specific part of the structure that first contacted the ground could not be precisely determined from the wreckage. This contact led to a complete loss of control and subsequent impacts with the ground, ending with the helicopter overturning. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, while no other damage was reported. The pilot was uninjured, and there were no passengers or other persons involved.