N7885S

On July 23, 1996, about 1045 hours Pacific daylight time, a Bell 47-G5, N7885S, was substantially damaged during landing after a power loss near Lost Hills, California. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the agricultural spraying operation and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at Shafter, California, at 0700 on the morning of the accident.

The pilot landed to take on enough fuel to ferry the helicopter back to the home base. After liftoff at 100 to 150 feet agl he lost all engine power.

An FAA inspector conducted a postaccident examination of the engine. The examination determined there was adequate fuel onboard at the time of the accident. The engine was test run with noted roughness. The carburetor was removed for inspection and an incorrect gasket was found between the carburetor and the air box. The incorrect gasket had been improperly installed with one of the four mounting bolts/cap screws missing. The gasket had been ingested into the carburetor throat. Additionally, there was foreign matter that was ingested through the gasket void and coated the carburetor throat. The material was determined to be a chemical powder used in agricultural spraying.