PILOT KILLED CROP-DUSTING HELICOPTER CRASHES.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

LANCASTER - A crop-dusting pilot was killed when his helicopter crashed into an onion field in east Lancaster.

The pilot died at the scene of the crash, which occurred just after 6 a.m. near Avenue I and 55th Street East. The Bell OH-58 came to rest on its side in a field just off a dirt road, behind a cluster of farm buildings.

``The pilot was doing some agricultural spraying when he crashed,'' FAA spokesman Donn Walker said.

Los Angeles County firefighters said the helicopter was carrying pesticide but that the crash caused no health hazard.

Killed was pilot Rick Manning, 49, of Bakersfield. The helicopter was owned by Delano-based San Joaquin Helicopters. Helicopter company employees at the scene said they were told not to talk about the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and sheriff's detectives were investigating the crash. What caused it was not immediately known.

``It takes weeks, if not months, to figure out the cause,'' Walker said.

Charles F. Bostwick, [phone]

chuck.bostwick(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color -- ran in AV edition only) Sheriff's investigators comb the site of a helicopter crash, above, that killed the pilot as he was dusting crops in Lancaster. Left, a sheriff's helicopter flies over the scene of the Wednesday morning crash. The cause is under investigation.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer