McDonnell Douglas 500 N9213F

Summary

On 17 August 1995 at about 16:30 local time, a McDonnell Douglas 500 registered N9213F was involved in an accident near Pacific Ocean. 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 August 1995 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Pacific Ocean

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas 500

Registration

N9213F

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

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

LAX95LA298

Nobody was injured.

the accidental discharge of a spear gun by the observer.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was hovering 10 feet over a floating log that the observer was going to mark with a buoy using a spear gun. The observer accidently fired the spear into the main rotor blade system. The pilot was able to maintain aircraft control and made a successful ditching into rough seas. The aft extensions to the utility floats broke during the landing and the helicopter rolled over and sank.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.