Hughes 369D N500TN
21 December 2011 · Fall Branch, Tennessee, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 21 December 2011 at about 21:15 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N500TN, operated by Air 2 LLC, was involved in an accident near Fall Branch, Tennessee, United States. One person was 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.
The record
- Date
- at 21:15
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Fall Branch, Tennessee, United States
- Coordinates
- 36.4197, -82.5894
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369D
- Registration
- N500TN
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Air 2 LLC
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial Observation
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Knoxville → Blountville
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- IMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ERA12CA119
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's improper decision to continue a visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a wire strike.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
Prior to departure on a positioning flight, the pilot checked the weather and determined that visual meteorological conditions existed at both his departure and destination airports. However, while the pilot was following a highway in cruise flight at 400 feet above ground level, the ceiling rapidly became lower, and the pilot encountered instrument meteorological conditions. Moments later, while cruising at an airspeed of 65 knots, the pilot saw marker balls, which indicated that power lines were directly in front of the helicopter. The pilot lowered the collective and entered a right diving turn in order to avoid the wires, but one of the main rotor blades made contact. The rotor speed remained within limits, but the helicopter began to vibrate, so the pilot decided to land in a nearby field. Postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed that the main rotor blade that had made contact with the power line was substantially damaged.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Hughes 369 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Mar 2011 | Hughes 369D | Meeker, Colorado, United States | Quicksilver Air Inc | Minor injuries | - |
| 28 Aug 2011 | Hughes 369D | South Malekula, Vanuatu, Vanuatu | Vanuatu Helicopters | Fatal | 1 |
| 23 Feb 2011 | Hughes 369D | Henryetta, Oklahoma, United States | Aerial Solutions, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 11 Mar 2010 | Hughes 369 | Naples, Florida, United States | Collier Mosquito Control District | No injuries | - |
| 27 Nov 2012 | Hughes 369D | Sheridan, Oregon, United States | P J Helicopters Inc | Minor injuries | - |
| 27 Nov 2012 | Hughes 369 | Childress, Texas, United States | Brim Equipment Leasing Inc | Fatal | 1 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jun 2011 | Beechcraft A100 | Gray, Tennessee, United States | Dynamic Avlease Inc | No injuries | - |
| 15 Jun 2011 | Cessna 525A | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Deer Horn Aviation Ltd Co | No injuries | - |
| 3 Oct 2011 | Loehle LOEHLE P-40 | Tullahoma, Tennessee, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 7 Oct 2011 | Piper PA-18-150 | Elizabethton, Tennessee, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 11 Dec 2011 | Shaw Douglas Wayne RANS S 7 | Somerville, Tennessee, United States | Miller IRA L | Fatal | 1 |
| 9 Oct 2011 | Aeronca 0-58A | Westmoreland, Tennessee, United States | Henderson Blake W | No injuries | - |