Hughes 369D N58267

Summary

On 14 October 2005 at about 21:13 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N58267, operated by AlexAir, was involved in an incident near Kahului, Hawaii, United States. 5 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 October 2005 at 21:13

Classification

Incident

Location

Kahului, Hawaii, United States

Nearest airport

Kahului (OGG)

Coordinates

20.8986, -156.4306

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N58267

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

AlexAir

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kahului → Kahului

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06IA011

Nobody was injured.

The fatigue cracking and failure of the tail rotor control rod during cruise flight, which resulted in a hard landing during the precautionary landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was damaged during a hard landing following a loss of tail rotor control. The pilot was conducting a tour flight when tail rotor control was lost. He conducted an emergency landing and landed hard when the helicopter encountered a gust of wind. Examination of the tail rotor system revealed that the tail rotor control rod failed about 6.5 inches forward of its aft attach point, where the control rod attaches to the tail rotor pitch change bell crank. The control rod fractured perpendicular to its longitudinal axis and displayed a flat fracture surface. Metallurgical examination of the control rod fracture revealed that it failed as a result of fatigue cracking that propagated from the outside in. The crack origin could not be determined due to severe mechanical damage from relative movement between the fracture mating surfaces. Due to the damage, the size of the crack could not be determined, and therefore, an assessment of the crack's age could not be made. As a result, it was not possible to determine whether or not the crack would have been visible during the last inspection, which took place 91.2 hours prior to the accident. That inspection's checklist called for the removal and inspection of the tail rotor control rod.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.