ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 311621
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| Date: | Monday 19 February 2018 |
| Time: | 05:00 LT |
| Type: |  Hughes 369D |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | N501VS |
| MSN: | 17-0050D |
| Year of manufacture: | 1977 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 18502 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls Royce 250-C20B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | off Marshall Islands, Pacific Ocean -
 Marshall Islands
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Survey |
| Departure airport: | Marshall Islands |
| Marshall Islands | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot departed for a flight over the open ocean. About 1 hour into the flight, the pilot descended the helicopter to sea level to attach a GPS buoy to a log. After attaching the buoy and as the helicopter was climbing through 400 to 500 ft above the water, the pilot heard a bang come from the area of the rotor head, followed by the cyclic control shaking. The pilot contacted support vessel personnel, notified them of the issue, and proceeded in the vessel's direction, but the helicopter continued experiencing intermittent flight control problems and was unable to reach the vessel. The pilot attempted to deploy the inflatable floats; however, they did not deploy. The pilot subsequently initiated a ditching, and the helicopter impacted water and rolled inverted. The pilot and passenger egressed the helicopter, which then sank, and the helicopter was not recovered.
Probable Cause: An in-flight mechanical malfunction with the helicopter, which necessitated a ditching in the ocean. The reason for the malfunction could be determined because the helicopter sank and was not recovered.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB WPR18CA100
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-May-2023 19:35 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
| 01-May-2023 19:38 | harro | Updated |
| 28-Sep-2023 05:44 | Ron Averes | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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