Hughes 369D N411SM

Summary

On 6 December 2000 at about 22:10 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N411SM was involved in an accident near Montrose, Colorado, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 December 2000 at 22:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Montrose, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

38.4897, -107.8691

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N411SM

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN01TA019

Nobody was injured.

the foreign object damage to a main rotor blade, while maneuvering.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was engaged in an animal capture program. The pilot said that the net-gunner had deployed a net over a deer, when he felt the helicopter began to "shake violently." He said that the helicopter was approximately 10 feet off the ground; he landed it with 10 to 15 knots of forward speed. After sliding approximately 10 feet, the pilot heard a loud bang, and the aircraft rolled right and forward. The helicopter came to rest on its left side with its right landing skid broken. Postaccident examination of the helicopter's main rotor blades revealed that one blade had leading edge damage that corresponded in size to a missing net weight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.