Garlick UH1H N121PT

Summary

On 21 July 2015 at about 00:40 local time, a Garlick UH1H registered N121PT, operated by LRH Equipment LLC, was involved in an accident near Walla Walla, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 July 2015 at 00:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Walla Walla, Washington, United States

Coordinates

46.0517, -118.0900

Aircraft

Garlick UH1H

Registration

N121PT

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1964

Engines

1

Operator

LRH Equipment LLC

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

Fire Fighting

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Walla Walla → Walla Walla

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR15LA219

1 person had minor injuries.

The helicopter’s reduction in aerodynamic lift while operating in variable wind conditions for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot reported that the helicopter was in a 165-ft hover in a narrow creek valley, over a shallow creek and that he was filling a fire bucket, which was attached to the helicopter via a long line. The terrain rose between 200 and 400 ft on either side of the creek. About 1 minute into the hover, the pilot felt the helicopter start to settle. He applied collective to arrest the settling, but the helicopter continued to settle. The pilot said that there was no yaw or unusual vibration or noise during the event, only a smooth settling of the helicopter and that the engine did not respond when he manipulated the collective. He immediately lowered the collective and performed a hovering autorotation toward an embankment. When the pilot raised the collective for the landing, the engine did not respond. The rotors struck several trees, then the helicopter spun 180°, landed hard, and rolled over onto its right side. After the accident, the engine continued to run until the pilot shut off the fuel and secured the battery. The helicopter was destroyed by postcrash fire. Postaccident examination of the helicopter did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the engine revealed compressor blade damage, rotational scoring witness marks, and metal splatter, consistent with the engine operating at the time of the accident. An automated surface observation system (ASOS) located 10 miles west of the accident reported that, about 1 hour before the accident, the wind was from 250°, gusting to 22 knots. An unofficial weather station located 6 miles southwest of the accident site recorded that, about 3 minutes before the accident, the wind was from 239o at 20 knots, gusting to 30 knots. The ASOS reported that, about 13 minutes after the accident, the wind was from 239o at 14 knots. Given these conditions, orographic wind turbulence could not be ruled out as a factor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.