Bell UH-1H N345SC

Summary

On 9 May 1998 at about 23:55 local time, a Bell UH-1H registered N345SC was involved in an accident near Naches, Washington, United States. 4 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

9 May 1998 at 23:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Naches, Washington, United States

Coordinates

46.7795, -120.8807

Aircraft

Bell UH-1H

Registration

N345SC

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA98TA074

1 person had minor injuries.

Loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that shortly after takeoff, he noticed that the rpm was low, as if it were bleeding off. The pilot tried to increase the rpm by using the increase/decrease button on the collective which had no effect. The pilot opted to reverse direction to return to land. The rpm continued to decrease and the pilot initiated an autorotation to a field in a narrow valley. The rpm continued to decay to a point in which the pilot could not perform a normal autorotation due to low airspeed and altitude. The helicopter landed hard and rocked forward onto it nose before settling back on the skids. The engine was removed and sent to a facility for a test run. During the engine run, there were no anomalies found that effected engine operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.