NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CHI94LA276
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a transmission wire during an agricultural spray run. A factor in the accident is the transmission wire.
Factual narrative
On August 11, 1994, about 1100 central daylight time, a Bell 47G3B1 helicopter, N64292, sustained substantial damage when it collided with power lines near Sargeant, Minnesota. The commercial pilot reported no injury. The aerial application flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without flight plan under 14 CFR Part 137. The pilot reported he was making a swath run and maneuvered to miss a guy wire. During the turn to avoid the guy wire, the helicopter's main rotor collided with power lines. The pilot was able to maintain partial control of the helicopter, and made a forced landing in a nearby field. THE PILOT REPORTED HE HAD JUST COMPLETED AN AERIAL APPLICATION SPRAY RUN WITH THE HELICOPTER, AND WAS MANEUVERING TO START ANOTHER RUN. HE TURNED THE HELICOPTER TO MISS A GUY WIRE, AND IN THE PROCESS INADVERTENTLY ALLOWED THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES TO STRIKE A TRANSMISSION WIRE. HE WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN PARTIAL CONTROL OF THE HELICOPTER, AND MADE A FORCED LANDING IN A NEARBY FIELD. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1994_CHI94LA276.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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