Hughes 369D N8606F

Summary

On 15 August 1993 at about 17:05 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N8606F, operated by Butte County Sheriffs's Dept, was involved in an accident near Chico, California, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 August 1993 at 17:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Chico, California, United States

Coordinates

39.7396, -121.8292

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N8606F

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Butte County Sheriffs's Dept

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX93LA323

1 person had minor injuries.

the observer's failure to properly secure stowed items in the rear compartment prior to takeoff and the resultant foreign object damage to the tail rotor system which precluded the pilot from maintaining directional control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

A sheriff's department rents this particular helicopter on an as needed basis for surveillance and rescue missions. All doors are removed for the missions. The pilot said that he had just achieved a cruise altitude of 500 feet AGL when he heard a loud bang and felt a severe vibration throughout the airframe. The pilot stated that he entered a 180 degree autorotation to a clear area in an almond orchard with power. During the landing flare, the helicopter began to spin to the right when the pilot applied collective. He said that he immediately rolled off the power; the helicopter landed hard and rolled over. A ground witness reported that when the helicopter was nearly overhead he saw a cloth like object come out of the helicopter and fly back toward the tail. The helicopter then descended rapidly as it turned 180 degrees until it disappeared behind the trees. Prior to takeoff, the observer had placed a nomex flight suit under some bags tied down in the rear compartment. Subsequent examination of the helicopter and the accident site revealed that the flight suit was unaccounted for and could not be located. Several days after the accident, a search party located a shredded nomex flight suit in the orchard not far from the accident site and back along the direction of the helicopter's flight path.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.