Hiller UH 12E N131HA

Summary

On 14 October 2019 at about 00:00 local time, a Hiller UH 12E registered N131HA was involved in an accident near Susanville, California, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 October 2019 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Susanville, California, United States

Coordinates

40.5561, -120.8392

Aircraft

Hiller UH 12E

Registration

N131HA

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Susanville → Susanville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR20LA007

1 person had minor injuries.

A partial loss of engine power due to multiple overtemperature events and a hot start event, which resulted in thermally damaged internal components of the engine. Contributing to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain on which to perform the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While operating over steep, logged forest terrain, the helicopter experienced multiple compressor stalls followed by a partial loss of power. The pilot attempted to regain engine power; however, once he determined that was not possible, he initiated a forced landing on the sloping terrain. The main rotor blades impacted terrain and the helicopter rolled over onto its left side, which resulted in substantial damage to main rotor system, fuselage, and the tail boom. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed damage to the stage 1, 2, and 3 turbine wheels, which exhibited cracks that were consistent with multiple over-temperature operations and a hot start event. Additionally, examination of the turbine outlet temperature gauge revealed errors that registered higher than the test temperature and are most likely not causal to the over temperature and hot start events. Review of maintenance documents revealed no indication of any previous hot start events or over temperature operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.