Hughes 369E N11KV

Summary

On 3 December 1999 at about 18:30 local time, a Hughes 369E registered N11KV, operated by Pathfinder Helicopter Inc, was involved in an accident near Salem, Oregon, United States. One person was 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

3 December 1999 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Salem, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

45.0098, -122.9104

Aircraft

Hughes 369E

Registration

N11KV

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Pathfinder Helicopter Inc

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

Unk

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA00LA028

1 person had minor injuries.

Failure of the pilot to maintain ground clearance, resulting in the long-line snagging and then striking the tail rotor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was operating with a 25 foot long-line at the time of the accident. The pilot was returning to pick up another load of Christmas trees, maneuvering at slow speed looking for the hooker, when he heard a loud bang and the aircraft began to spin rapidly. More bangs were heard from the rear of the aircraft as it continued to spin. The pilot rolled the throttle to idle, which did not arrest the spin. The aircraft then entered a nose-low attitude while spinning; the pilot could not get the nose up with full aft cyclic. Just prior to ground impact, the pilot rolled the throttle to full open, which brought the nose up to a near-level attitude. The helicopter impacted the ground level, but sliding to the left into a hillside. Terrain was described as small rolling hillsides with various fields of small to large Christmas trees. FAA inspectors found evidence of white paint transfer on the long-line cable, and also signatures consistent with cable marks on one of the two separated tail rotor blades. Witnesses noted that ground fog was forming in the area at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.