Hiller UH-12E accident near Cleveland, Tennessee, January 5, 2001
On January 5, 2001 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Hiller UH-12E (helicopter), registered N112EC, was destroyed in an accident near Cleveland, Tennessee. 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The PIC's failure to follow safe operating procedures for the maintenance of the rotorcraft's external aerial application equipment, resulting in inadvertent activation of collective as he egressed the rotorcraft, causing unmanned flight, in-flight break-up, and collision with terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 5, 2001 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Cleveland, Tennessee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hiller UH-12E · all UH-12Es on the register
- Registration
- N112EC · no longer on the register · serial HA3012
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, the externally slung, hydraulically operated fertilizer bucket stopped dispensing. With no ground handling crewman available, the pilot set the rotorcraft down to troubleshoot the problem. With engine rpm near maximum to run the hydraulic pump to its maximum output, the pilot climbed out of the left seat, onto the left skid to read the externally mounted hydraulic pressure gage. While egressing the cockpit, the pilot accidentally bumped the collective control to the "increase rotor pitch" position, and the rotorcraft became airborne without him aboard. The rotorcraft climbed to about 500 feet agl, in circling flight until the loaded fertilizer bucket began swinging in ever-divergent oscillations causing rotorcraft instability and eventual main rotor-to-boom strike and crash.
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; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 16,742 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 33 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 16,371 as pilot in command; 800 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,728 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allied Signal 250C20B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Cleveland TN at 8:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.80 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from CHA, 21 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.
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.