McDonnell Douglas 600N N185SD
17 June 1998 · Laguna Beach, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 17 June 1998 at about 19:40 local time, a McDonnell Douglas 600N registered N185SD, operated by Orange County Sheriff Dept, was involved in an accident near Laguna Beach, California, United States. One person was 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.
The record
- Date
- at 19:40
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Laguna Beach, California, United States
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
- Aircraft
- McDonnell Douglas 600N
- Registration
- N185SD
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Orange County Sheriff Dept
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Public Use
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Costa Mesa → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX98TA202
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The inadvertent entanglement of an external load, which interfered with the pilot's ability to control the aircraft.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The purpose of the flight was to test a portable water source, called the pumpkin, to determine if it was an acceptable means of providing water for bambi bucket operations. The pumpkin is a rubberized circular bag, which stands approximately 3 feet high and is approximately 7-8 feet in diameter. The pilot reported that he noted that the rotor downwash was blowing the top portion of the pumpkin (the portion above the water line) wide open. As the pilot raised the collective to depart, the rotor wash blew the top part of the pumpkin closed, which overlapped and snagged the rear portion of the left skid. The helicopter tilted back and the tail section struck the asphalt. The helicopter spun 180 degrees to the right just as the pilot was about to jettison the bucket. The helicopter impacted the ground on its rear left side. The pilot reported that he had not experienced any abnormal malfunction with the aircraft controls prior to the accident. He further stated that he was not in communication with any of the ground crewmembers at the time of the accident.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other McDonnell Douglas 600 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jan 1998 | McDonnell Douglas 600N | Mesa, Arizona, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Mar 1999 | McDonnell Douglas 600N | Rialto, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 21 Feb 2001 | McDonnell Douglas 600N | San Diego, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 23 Oct 2001 | McDonnell Douglas 600N | Long Beach, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 24 Oct 2001 | McDonnell Douglas 600N | Laughlin, Nevada, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 Oct 2002 | McDonnell Douglas 600N | Rialto, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 1998 | Cessna 152 | Avalon, California, United States | Orange County Flight Center | Fatal | 1 |
| 5 Oct 1998 | Grumman TS-2A | Banning, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 15 Aug 1998 | North American NAVION | Salinas, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 21 Aug 1998 | Bell 206B | Salinas, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Aug 1998 | Robinson R22B | Ramona, California, United States | Civic Helicopters | No injuries | - |
| 27 Aug 1998 | Aerospatiale SA316B | Porterville, California, United States | U.s. Dept. of the Interior | No injuries | - |