Hughes 369D N5225C

Summary

On 7 April 2003 at about 16:05 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N5225C was involved in an accident near Taholah, Washington, 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

7 April 2003 at 16:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Taholah, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.4528, -124.2764

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N5225C

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Central Park → Taholah

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA03LA058

1 person had minor injuries.

The entanglement of the fuel quantity sender float in the start pump wiring within the fuel tank as a result of the wiring not being properly secured. This rendered the fuel gauge inaccurate and the low fuel warning light inoperative which led to fuel exhaustion. The improper securing of the wiring was a result of unspecified maintenance personnel not identifying the unsecured condition. Contributing factors were the lack of adequate guidance in the maintenance manuals on inspection of the wiring and the low rotor RPM during the autorotation resulting in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the Hughes 369D helicopter had been engaged in logging operations for about an hour when the engine flamed out, and he executed a hard landing to a nearby road. Post-crash examination found no fuel within the fuel tank, and the fuel quantity sending float entangled in the unsecured start pump wiring preventing the float from registering anything less than about 120 pounds of fuel (about 60 pounds above the Low Fuel Warning light activation setting). The helicopter had undergone a 100-hour inspection just before the accident flight during which the fuel quantity sending unit had been replaced. The maintenance manual contained procedures including a caution to secure the start pump wiring to prevent entanglement with the float, but this caution was addressed only in the start pump replacement procedure of the manual and not included in the fuel quantity sending unit replacement procedures.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.