NTSB investigation said wasps nest caused fatal helicopter crash

Dan Mount
·1 min read
53

WEST CARTHAGE, N.Y. (WWTI) – The National Transportation Safety Board have put out a report regarding the fatal helicopter crash on Saturday, July 27 in West Carthage.

Federal investigators said a wasps nest was clogging the fuel tube in the preliminary report released by the NTSB.

State police respond to deadly helicopter crash in the Village of West Carthage

The early afternoon crash on July 27 killed 65-year-old businessman Gary Johnson of Carthage. Johnson was the only person aboard the helicopter.

NTSB officials said the fuel flowed sporadically from the metal fuel tank during the investigation. The fuel vent tube was examined and found a blockage. Investigators flushed out tank and found a mud dauber nest inside.

Mud daubers are a type of wasp that have long, thin waists and construct their nests out of mud.

The report said that Johnson regularly operated the helicopter, but his brother said the last time it was flown was around three weeks before the accident.

According to the report, the helicopter was manufactured in 1998 and equipped with a Lycoming HO-360, 180-hp engine. The aircraft logbooks were not recovered, and the Hobbs meter indicated 2,100.4 hours of operation.

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