Aerospatiale SA319B N119PH

Summary

On 24 September 2006 at about 00:30 local time, a Aerospatiale SA319B registered N119PH was involved in an accident near Port Alsworth, Alaska, United States. 2 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

24 September 2006 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Port Alsworth, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

60.2414, -156.4044

Aircraft

Aerospatiale SA319B

Registration

N119PH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

External Load

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Port Alsworth → Port Alsworth

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC06LA137

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to adequately secure the external load rigging of an airplane that was suspended from the helicopter, which resulted in a load shift during cruise flight, producing an abrupt nose-down attitude, and the severing of the tailrotor drive shaft by the main rotor blades.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a Title 14, CFR Part 133 flight, the commercial certificated pilot was transporting a previously crashed airplane on a 100 foot external load line. The external load line was attached to a spreader bar that was attached to the wing structure of the airplane. While flying about 60 knots, and about 2,000 feet above ground level (agl), the pilot felt the load shift, becoming light, or unloaded, and he began to slow the helicopter's airspeed. The helicopter then suddenly pitched nose-down about 45 degrees. The tail boom of the helicopter was struck by one or more main rotor blades, severing the tail rotor drive shaft. The pilot released the external load from the belly of the helicopter and entered an autorotation. About 1,000 feet agl, the pilot shut the engine off, and performed a touch down autorotation. During the landing on soft tundra, one of the main landing gear wheels dug into the terrain, and the helicopter's tail boom was struck by the main rotor blades, severing about two feet of the aft end of the tail boom. The pilot did not determine the cause of the external load shift.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.