Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
the pilot's selection of an inadequate obstacle clearance cruise altitude.
Aircraft Information
Analysis
On November 6, 1993, at 1122 hours Pacific standard time, an Aerospatiale SA-341G helicopter, N76WH, was substantially damaged during a wire strike and a forced landing near Lake Berryessa, California. Neither the pilot nor his three passengers were injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight, and no flight plan was filed. The helicopter had departed Calistoga, California, at about 1030 on the morning of the accident.
Pacific Gas and Electric reported that the helicopter had struck two 115,000-volt power lines at the Lake Berryessa Recreation Area near the Pleasure Cove Resort. The power outage was recorded at 1122 hours.
Witnesses reported seeing the helicopter flying low, then disappear into a cloud of dust.
In a verbal statement the pilot said that he simply did not see the power lines prior to the collision. The pilot stated that the wires were not marked. The San Francisco Sectional Aeronautical Chart depicts the wires on the chart.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# LAX94LA038