Pilot of doomed helicopter called off crop dusting just before crashing in Fresno County
An initial report on the fatal crash of a crop-dusting helicopter near Coalinga in February indicates that the pilot called off spraying after winds increased that night in western Fresno County.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the Feb. 16 crash, issued its preliminary report Thursday, but a final report detailing the cause of the crash is likely to take months to complete.
The pilot, identified by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office as 53-year-old Steven Wilson of Shafter, was killed when the helicopter crashed in an orchard east of Interstate 5, near Sonoma and Chandler avenues northeast of Coalinga, sometime after 9:38 p.m.
The preliminary report sets out a timeline for that night and describes what investigators found at the crash site but offers no indication of a cause for the crash.
Wilson, flying the 1967 Bell UH-1H owned by American Ag Aviation Inc. of Five Points, had intended to spray at five different locations and arrived over the first site at about 6 p.m., the NTSB reported. Wilson completed spraying at two locations and had started spraying over a third site before stopping when winds picked up.
The supervisor of the ground crew supporting Wilson’s spray operation told investigators that the pilot flew over a fourth location and radioed that he would spray that one the following day. After that, Wilson flew away from the area but did not say where he was going. Wilson’s last communication with the ground crew was at about 9:38 p.m. to ask a question about the winds.
The ground crew supervisor alerted his employer and called 911 after Wilson failed to arrive at the fifth location where he was expected to spray that evening.
After the Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert notification, a search airplane spotted the bright yellow helicopter at about 3 a.m.
Investigators said the aircraft was found resting on its left side in the orchard about six miles southeast from where he was last seen, “and close to an establishment where the pilot was known to take breaks,” the report stated. The crash site is about three miles north of the Harris Ranch Airport near Interstate 5 and Dorris Avenue, northeast of Coalinga.
Damage to the helicopter was substantial, and a trail of downed trees stretched south about 120 feet from the wreckage in the orchard. NTSB investigators reported that the crash site was near a large set of power transmission lines, but those lines were not disturbed.
Weather on the night of the crash was reported as clear with about 10 miles visibility, with temperatures at about 43 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind at the time was blowing from the west at about 5 knots or 6 mph.
FAA data shows that the helicopter’s most recent airworthiness certificate was issued in 2010.
