ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 175163
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| Date: | Monday 6 April 2015 |
| Time: | 13:00 |
| Type: |  Hughes 369D |
| Owner/operator: | Haverfield Aviation |
| Registration: | N555JC |
| MSN: | 180256D |
| Year of manufacture: | 1977 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 9813 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls Royce 250-C20B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Tennessee River, west of the Natchez Trace Parkway, TN -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Corinth, MS (CRX) |
| Scottsboro, AL (4A6) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The commercial pilot of the helicopter positioning flight delayed the takeoff for inclement weather to pass. However, about 1/2 hour after taking off, the helicopter encountered rain, fog, and low-visibility, gray-lighting conditions. The helicopter approached a 1-mile wide river, landed briefly onshore, then took off again and began a low-altitude crossing while paralleling a bridge. The helicopter was observed at an estimated 25 feet above the river before it began descending at a 10- to 15-degree angle into the water about mid-way through the crossing. It impacted the water nose-low, left side down, at a sufficient speed for the witness to see the tail “kick over” the main rotor blades and snap off. There were no onboard recording devices to confirm what occurred. No preexisting anomalies were found with the helicopter, and no medical issues were identified that would have affected the pilot’s performance. The reason that the pilot landed before crossing the river could not be determined. Although the pilot’s attention could have been momentarily diverted, it was more likely that the rainy, gray, reduced-visibility conditions resulted in low altitude spatial disorientation.
Probable Cause: The pilot's spatial disorientation during a low-level river crossing in rainy, gray, reduced visibility meteorological conditions, which resulted in the helicopter's subsequent descent and impact with the water. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to attempt the low-level crossing under those meteorological conditions.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=555JC
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 28 June 2000 | N8653F | Thomas Helicopters | 0 | near Heyburn, Idaho | |
sub |
| Fuel exhaustion | ||||||
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Apr-2015 23:47 | Geno | Added |
| 07-Apr-2015 00:01 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Phase, Source] |
| 07-Apr-2015 14:03 | Alpine Flight | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 07-Apr-2015 16:14 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source] |
| 07-Apr-2015 20:31 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 09-Apr-2015 07:00 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 09-Apr-2015 10:45 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 15-Apr-2015 07:54 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 02-May-2015 00:12 | Geno | Updated [Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 06-May-2015 20:26 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Phase, Narrative] |
| 06-May-2015 20:28 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 29-Jun-2016 20:21 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 01-Dec-2017 13:02 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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