Hughes 369D N8356F

Summary

On 2 March 2001 at about 21:00 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N8356F was involved in an accident near Canadian, Texas, United States. 3 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

2 March 2001 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Canadian, Texas, United States

Coordinates

35.9092, -100.3791

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N8356F

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Amarillo → Canadian

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW01LA073

Nobody was injured.

the helicopter's encounter with loss of tail rotor effectiveness while hovering out-of-ground effect, and the pilot's failure to maintain control. A contributing factor was the soft terrain condition.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot made an approach to a high hover due to the rough/uneven terrain. As the pilot was hovering the helicopter to a level area at 40 feet agl, the helicopter began to yaw to the right. The pilot stated that he hover taxied through his "rotor wash," and the helicopter encountered "loss of tail rotor effectiveness." The pilot increased collective in an attempt to takeoff, and the helicopter made "two quick revolutions." The pilot stated that he elected to land the helicopter instead of continuing with the takeoff due to power lines and rising terrain. The pilot initiated an autorotation, and the helicopter touched down on the soft ground while still rotating, collapsing the left landing skid. Subsequently, the tail rotor and main rotor blades struck the ground. The helicopter came to rest leaning toward its left side.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.