Hughes 369D N369AW

Summary

On 15 November 2012 at about 17:11 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N369AW, operated by Haverfield International Inc., was involved in an accident near Corning, New York, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 November 2012 at 17:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Corning, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Elmira/Corning Rgnl (ELM)

Coordinates

42.1475, -77.0419

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N369AW

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1977

Engines

1

Operator

Haverfield International Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Aerial Observation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Horseheads → Horseheads

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA13LA057

2 people died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate altitude while conducting a power line aerial observation flight, which resulted in an in-flight collision with wires. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of total experience in the type of operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was flying west down a hill over power lines that the pilot was inspecting when it struck the top of the power lines that were perpendicular to its flightpath. The tail rotor assembly separated, and the helicopter impacted the ground and came to rest inverted. Postaccident examination of the helicopter did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation; however, most of the wreckage sustained extensive thermal- and impact-related damage. The pilot was hired about 3 weeks before the accident. He had no prior power line patrol experience, but he had completed a wire strike avoidance training module about 2 weeks before the accident. The accident occurred during the pilot's second work day of flying power line observation flights. After the accident, the operator instituted a policy requiring that all newly hired pilots obtain 100 flight hours of power line patrol-related flight experience with company crewmembers before being assigned an operation that would require flying with noncompany observers.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.