Texas Helicopter M-74 accident near Clear Lake, Minnesota, July 9, 2004
On July 9, 2004 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Texas Helicopter M-74, registered N10009, was substantially damaged in an accident near Clear Lake, Minnesota. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot failed to maintain a proper glidepath to the landing zone. A factor was the truck pad.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 9, 2004 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Clear Lake, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Texas Helicopter M-74
- Registration
- N10009 · registry record · serial 79-032
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A helicopter sustained substantial damage while attempting to land on a truck pad that was positioned in a field. The pilot reported he was starting to spray his fourth field when he observed that the fuel gauge on the helicopter was close to the "low/danger area." He returned to the truck to refuel. As he was approaching the truck pad for landing, "the helicopter started to settle and in spite of forward cyclic and full power, rotor RPM started to decay." He was not able to get the skids all the way on the pad and the helicopter fell backwards off the truck pad. The helicopter rolled to the right and nosed into the ground. It spun around and ended up facing the truck with its engine still running. The pilot shut down the helicopter and exited the aircraft.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 14,102 hours in all; 1,931 in this make and model; 249 in the last 90 days; 143 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-435-25A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Clear Lake MN
- Destination: Clear Lake MN
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N10009 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI04CA180.