Agusta A119 N403CF

Summary

On 30 June 2005 at about 19:57 local time, a Agusta A119 registered N403CF was involved in an accident near Mancos, Colorado, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 June 2005 at 19:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Mancos, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

37.4006, -108.1422

Aircraft

Agusta A119

Registration

N403CF

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Durango → Mancos

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN05FA103

3 people died.

a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons and the pilot's inability to get into autorotation prior to impacting the ground. A factor contributing to the accident was the helicopter's low altitude when power was lost.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The EMS helicopter had been dispatched to medivac a logger who had been injured in a trucking accident. The pilot made a low pass, then circled around to make his landing approach. A volunteer fireman, who was standing at the landing zone (LZ) and directing the helicopter, said the temperature was "about 80 degrees [F.]," and he advised the pilot that the winds were calm. The fireman said the helicopter was about 220 feet above tree level when "it dropped straight down." He heard no unusual engine sounds and did not see the impact. The on-scene examination revealed all four main rotor blades remained attached to the rotor hub and were drooped over the wreckage. Examination of the fuel control unit (FCU) revealed a 1/16-inch gap at the mating flange between the flow (fuel bypass passage, Po) and drive (air pressure passages, Px & Py) bodies. One of four retention-bolts was backed out and the packing was partially extruded. The bolt was too short, another bolt was too long, and the other two bolts were insufficiently torqued. Additionally, the flow and drive bodies were not perfectly flat. Further examination of the FCU revealed no functional anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.