Bell 47G-2 accident near Edmondson, Arkansas, September 25, 2002
On September 25, 2002 at about 7:12 pm local time, a Bell 47G-2 (helicopter), registered N5193B, was destroyed in an accident near Edmondson, Arkansas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the high voltage power lines.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 2002 · about 7:12 pm local time
- Place
- Edmondson, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 47G-2 · all 47G-2s on the register
- Registration
- N5193B · no longer on the register · serial 2174
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 5,450-hour commercial pilot had completed an aerial application on a cotton field, and was en route to the staging area when one of helicopter's main rotor blades contacted a wire as the pilot attempted to fly under a set of high voltage power lines. The helicopter impacted soft terrain, became inverted adjacent to the power lines where a post impact fire consumed most of the helicopter.
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; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,450 hours in all; 350 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: May 22, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,931.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 15, 2002; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,450 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming VO-435-A1D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Ag Copters Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Edmondson AR at 7:04 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; a few clouds at 9,500 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from MEM, 16 miles away
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 N5193B the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.