Aerospatiale AS315B N49525

Summary

On 28 March 2002 at about 15:00 local time, a Aerospatiale AS315B registered N49525, operated by Southern States Cooperative Inc., was involved in an accident near Hortense, Georgia, 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

28 March 2002 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Hortense, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

31.3506, -81.8181

Aircraft

Aerospatiale AS315B

Registration

N49525

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Southern States Cooperative Inc.

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hortense → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL02LA067

1 person had minor injuries.

Failure of the engine to main transmission drive shaft due to improper installation by company maintenance personnel. A factor were the trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he was 100 feet in the air, at 40 knots, when he heard a bang in the tail section of the helicopter and thought he felt something break loose on the helicopter. There was an immediate loss of power to the main rotor system. The pilot attempted to flare the helicopter as it went into the trees. The helicopter impacted trees at approximately 30 knots, sustaining substantial damage. Examination of the helicopter revealed that the short shaft connecting the engine to the main gear box separated just aft of the connecting flange. Examination of the mounting hardware revealed that the connecting bolts had not been safety wired at the time of the accident. Examination of the helicopters maintenance records and an interview with the helicopter mechanic found that the helicopter had undergone a 400 hour inspection about two days prior to the accident or 10 hours of operation. The mechanic confirmed that he had removed and reinstalled the short shaft prior to the accident but could not recall if he had safety wired the connecting bolts as called for in the helicopters maintenance manual.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.