Bell 206-B, VH-ITH, 7 km NW of Jamestown SA, 10 December 1987

The aircraft was engaged in defining swarms of locusts as part of a control programme. The helicopter was being flown at about 35 feet above ground level, when one of the main rotor blades struck a powerline. Control of the aircraft was lost and it struck the ground in a nose down attitude, 111 metres beyond the powerline. The pilot had flown over the area earlier in the day, but had not sighted the wire. On this occasion he did not make a specific search for wires before commencing the low level operation. The span of wire between the support poles measures 610 metres and although the support poles were easy to see, the wire was not. The pilot was not aware that the helicopter had collided with the wire until some time after the accident.