ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 370489
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| Date: | Sunday 3 June 2001 |
| Time: | 17:40 LT |
| Type: |  Hughes 369D |
| Owner/operator: | Smokey Mountain Helicopters |
| Registration: | N1109V |
| MSN: | 1100858D |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4450 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce 250-C20B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Hanapepe, HI -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Hanapepe-Port Allen Airport, HI (PAK/PHPA) |
| Hanapepe, HI | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter experienced a loss of engine power while in cruise flight. The helicopter was on its way to a rugged area to rescue a person. The pilot indicated that the engine out warning system activated, and he autorotated to a creek after determining that he was unable to manually control the engine power. The pilot performed the autorotation landing to a steep and highly vegetated area. Post-accident examination of the engine revealed its turbine section sustained hot corrosion (sulfidation) damage, which reduced the cross sectional area of the airfoils. The degree of hot corrosion damage suggests that multiple over temperature events occurred over a number of flights. The reduced cross section resulted in the liberation of one or more of the airfoils in tensile overload. The failure of the airfoils resulted in secondary over temperature and failure of other airfoils in the turbine section and eventual turbine seizure. Examination of the TOT thermocouples revealed three of the four leads were broken; however, it could not be determined as to when the fractures occurred.
Probable Cause: a loss of engine power while in cruise flight resulting from the failure and liberation of several turbine blades due to hot corrosion effects which weakened the blades. The hot corrosion damage was the result of multiple turbine over temperature events which occurred over several flights. Contributing factors were the lack of suitable terrain, and high vegetation.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX01FA200
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2024 11:13 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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