Bell 47G-5 accident near King City, California, July 28, 2000
On July 28, 2000 at about 12:40 pm local time, a Bell 47G-5 (helicopter), registered N7885S, was substantially damaged in an accident near King City, California. 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 instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's intentional flight into adverse weather which resulted in loss of visual reference and flight into power transmission wires and terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 28, 2000 · about 12:40 pm local time
- Place
- King City, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Bell 47G-5 · all 47G-5s on the register
- Registration
- N7885S · registry record · serial 7873
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the agricultural application helicopter took off at dawn and was en route to the spraying location beneath a 300-foot overcast cloud ceiling with 1/4 to 1/2-mile flight visibility. The helicopter flew into a fog bank and the pilot lost visual contact with the ground. He lowered the collective control and descended toward the ground to regain visual reference; however, the tail rotor contacted power transmission wires before he regained visual contact. He then lowered the collective further and reduced engine power to regain directional control and the helicopter made a hard impact with the ground in an upright attitude.
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: 4,030 hours in all; 1,225 in this make and model; 115 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days; 3,975 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,116 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 17, 2000; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,750 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming VO-435-B1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KIC at 12:35 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 260° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 126°F (52°C), dew point 122°F (50°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 am from SNS, 30 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 N7885S 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.