ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 180006
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| Date: | Friday 9 July 2004 |
| Time: | 20:10 |
| Type: |  Hughes 269C |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N56PH |
| MSN: | S-1441 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming HIO-360-D1A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | about 12 miles north of Arlington, Washington -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Bellingham, WA (BLI) |
| Arlington, WA (AWO) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
While cruising at about 2,500 feet above the ground (agl), the pilot heard a "pop" and felt the helicopter yaw to the right. Almost immediately he noticed that the engine was starting to lose power, and he therefore lowered the collective and initiated a partial autorotation. He then attempted to get the engine to accelerate, but he continued to hear "sputtering and popping," and the engine continued to gradually lose power. The pilot therefore elected to perform a full autorotational landing in a nearby opening in the heavily wooded area he was flying over. Although he was able to touch down with only a very slow forward speed, the terrain he was landing on turned out to be a wet and muddy bog or swamp, and as the helicopter touched down, one of the skids sunk into the mud, and the aircraft rolled over onto its side. A post-accident inspection of the helicopter's engine and fuel system by an FAA Airworthiness Inspector and a fixed base operator's (FBO's) maintenance personnel did not find any evidence of an anomaly that would have lead to a loss of power in the engine. After the initial inspection was completed, the engine was mounted on an engine stand and run at various speeds for a period of about eight minutes. During the test run, the engine started easily and ran smooth at all tested speeds up to and including a maximum of 3,100 rpm.
Probable Cause: A significant power loss for undetermined reasons while in cruise flight, leading to a full autorotational landing. Factors include no suitable terrain in the area, and soft swampy terrain at the point where the pilot found it necessary to perform the forced landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20040722X01031&key=1
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Sep-2015 13:58 | Noro | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 07-Dec-2017 18:12 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Cn, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Sep-2019 14:53 | BEAVERSPOTTER | Updated [Cn] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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