Hughes 369E N500FU
16 August 2005 · Donnelly, Idaho, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 16 August 2005 at about 23:15 local time, a Hughes 369E registered N500FU was involved in an accident near Donnelly, Idaho, United States. 4 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.
The record
- Date
- at 23:15
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Donnelly, Idaho, United States
- Coordinates
- 44.6278, -116.1414
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369E
- Registration
- N500FU
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Caldwell → Donnelly
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- SEA05CA173
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance of a tree during a landing attempt due to loss of visibility from a self induced brown-out condition. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to identify a hazardous landing site, and the tree.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot said that he had landed at the site several times before, but that much construction work had been done since his last visit. He said that as he descended to his landing zone, the main rotor downwash from his helicopter created "brown-out" visibility conditions. He floated past his landing spot and the helicopter's main rotor struck a tree. The pilot said that pieces of the main blades subsequently damaged the vertical and horizontal stabilizer, and the tail rotor was damaged.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Hughes 369 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Aug 2005 | Hughes 369HS | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | Christopher Holland | Serious injuries | - |
| 4 Oct 2005 | Hughes 369D | Hangelosa, Sweden | HT Helikoptertransport AB | Minor injuries | - |
| 8 Aug 2005 | Hughes 369D | North Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 3 Feb 2005 | Hughes 369HS | Provo, Utah, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Apr 2005 | Hughes 369FF | Quantico, Virginia, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 19 Jul 2005 | Hughes 369FF | Loveland, Colorado, United States | USDA Forest Service | Minor injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 2005 | Cessna 402B | Sandpoint, Idaho, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 Apr 2005 | Piper PA-28-140 | McCammon, Idaho, United States | Thomas J. Moody | No injuries | - |
| 5 Aug 2005 | Cessna 150L | Kellogg, Idaho, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Aug 2005 | Harmon/Lance RV-4 | Coolin, Idaho, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 4 Aug 2005 | Burkhart Grob G103 TWIN ASTIR | Driggs, Idaho, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 15 Sep 2005 | Cessna 182P | Yellow Pine, Idaho, United States | - | No injuries | - |