Hughes 369D N369PB

Summary

On 30 June 2006 at about 23:35 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N369PB, operated by Camera Copters, Inc., was involved in an accident near Moab, Utah, United States. 3 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.

Date

30 June 2006 at 23:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Moab, Utah, United States

Coordinates

38.6333, -109.2500

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N369PB

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Camera Copters, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Moab → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA06LA135

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the collective bungee support bracket due to non-compliance with a service information notice, which resulted in the pilot executing a precautionary autorotative landing. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was maneuvering the helicopter at an altitude of about 200 feet agl conducting filming operations when he heard a loud bang after which the collective control felt "mushy" and "as if there was no positive control." He initiated a precautionary power on autorotative landing. The helicopter touched down on top of a ridgeline and then slid approximately 50 to 75 feet into a gully area, coming to rest in a 40 to 45 degree nose down attitude. During the landing, the main rotor contacted and severed the tail boom. Examination of the helicopter revealed that the collective bungee support bracket was fractured. A service information notice issued by the helicopter's manufacturer on March 7, 1980, called for a one time inspection of the collective bungee support bracket to ensure that thickness of the machine web surface in the aft lug area of the bracket was 0.065 inch or more. Excerpts from the helicopter's maintenance records provided by the pilot indicated that the service information notice was complied with prior to June 25, 1997. Examination of the fractured bracket revealed that the web thickness varied from 0.036 to 0.052 inch, which was below the minimum thickness requirement. Additionally, a hole that would have been drilled in the bracket during compliance with the service information notice was not present, indicating the procedure was not performed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.