Bell 47 N6569H

Summary

On 17 March 1995 at about 15:20 local time, a Bell 47 registered N6569H was involved in an accident near Harmon Field. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 March 1995 at 15:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Harmon Field

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Bell 47

Registration

N6569H

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX95LA138

Nobody was injured.

an engine failure due to oil exhaustion from a missing oil pressure relief valve as the result of an improper maintenance inspection.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PILOT WAS PROCEEDING TO A LANDING AREA AT 400 FEET AGL WHEN HE EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. HE AUTOROTATED INTO DENSE JUNGLE TERRAIN. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THAT THE OIL PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE WAS MISSING. THIS WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT SINCE A 100-HOUR INSPECTION WAS MADE THE DAY BEFORE. THE INSPECTION OF THE SAFETY WIRE SECURING THE VALVE IS NOT A PREFLIGHT ITEM FOR THE PILOT, NOR IS IT REQUIRED TO BE INSPECTED PRIOR TO FLIGHT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.