Aviation Crash Map

Arrow Falcon Exporters ARROW F OH-58A N331TA

5 November 2005 · West Memphis, Arkansas, United States · Fatal

Summary

On 5 November 2005 at about 14:50 local time, a Arrow Falcon Exporters ARROW F OH-58A registered N331TA, operated by Lee Catt Construction Company Inc., was involved in an accident near West Memphis, Arkansas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 14:50
Classification
Accident
Location
West Memphis, Arkansas, United States
Coordinates
34.9992, -90.3725
Aircraft
Arrow Falcon Exporters ARROW F OH-58A
Registration
N331TA
Category
Helicopter
Engines
1
Operator
Lee Catt Construction Company Inc.
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Marion → Unknown
Aircraft damage
Destroyed
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
DFW06LA027

People

1 person died.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 1 0 0 0

Probable cause

The loss of engine power due to a disconnected pneumatic (Pc) line. A contributing factor was the ravine.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The wreckage of the single-engine turbine-powered helicopter was found 3 days after the accident in a ravine separating two cultivated fields. There were no reported eye-witnesses to the accident and no distress calls were received from the aircraft. Damage to the main and tail rotor were found to be consistent with low rotor RPM at the time of impact. The 1,050-hour private pilot appeared to have experienced a loss of engine power. Examination of the engine revealed an engine pneumatic (Pc) line from the governor to the fuel control unit was found detached from its mounting location. The associated "B-nut" and ferrule which connect the Pc line to the threaded mounting port on the fuel control unit had backed off from their normally installed locations. Complete separation of a Pc pneumatic tube will result in reduced fuel flow to a sub-idle condition. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed throughout the area at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

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