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WPR24LA138

2024-05-02 · Lewiston, Idaho, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport N/A

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from power lines during a low level aerial application.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, while performing an aerial application on a field, the helicopter struck a set of power lines that he was previously aware of and had been working around during the flight. Following the impact with wires, he initiated a forced landing to a field. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor blades, transmission, tail rotor drive shaft, and tail boom. The pilot reported there were no mechanical failures or anomalies with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Wire-Awareness of condition

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_WPR24LA138.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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