What happened
During an agricultural mission to manage vegetation for State Farm of Baumansky, a helicopter experienced a catastrophic loss of control. The crew had been performing numerous spraying sorties over a period of four consecutive days, which included several operations conducted during nighttime hours. While operating at a low altitude, the aircraft entered a left-hand roll reaching an angle of 45 degrees. This maneuver led to a rapid loss of altitude, causing the aircraft to impact a field located approximately 1,000 meters from the departure site. The impact was followed by a post-crash fire that completely destroyed the airframe.
Findings
- The crash resulted in one fatality and one serious injury.
- Investigation into the accident identified that the crew had been working under conditions of significant fatigue due to insufficient rest periods between missions.
- Crew exhaustion was determined to be the primary factor that degraded the performance and operational capabilities of the flight crew, leading to the loss of control.