ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 43274
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| Date: | Friday 21 July 1995 |
| Time: | 12:27 LT |
| Type: |  Hughes 369D |
| Owner/operator: | City/county Of Honolulu |
| Registration: | N1090S |
| MSN: | 800788D |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 6592 hours |
| Engine model: | ALLISON 250-C20B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Hauula, HI -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | , HI (NONE) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HELICOPTER PILOT WAS FLYING WITHOUT AN OBSERVER. HE WAS INSERTING TWO POLICE OFFICERS WHO WERE IN A RESCUE NET 50 FEET BELOW THE HELICOPTER, INTO MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN TO SEARCH FOR A MISSING HIKER. DETERIORATING WEATHER AND CLOUD COVER WITH TURBULENCE WAS PRESENT. GROUND PERSONNEL WARNED THE PILOT THREE TIMES OF THE DETERIORATING CONDITIONS. A WITNESS STATED THAT THE HELICOPTER WAS PARTIALLY IN THE CLOUDS BUT THE NET WAS IN THE CLEAR. HIKERS IN A CANYON NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE OBSERVED THE NET SWINGING LIKE A PENDULUM THROUGH AN ARC OF 45 TO 50 DEGREES. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THAT THE LINE WHICH SECURED THE NET TO THE HELICOPTER BECAME ENTANGLED WITH THE MAIN ROTOR AND WAS FOUND WRAPPED AROUND THE MAIN ROTOR MAST AND ALL THE MAIN ROTOR PITCH CHANGE LINKS WERE FACTURED. THE HELICOPTER PILOT'S FIRE DEPARTMENT RECORDS INDICATED HE HAD 511 HOURS OF HELICOPTER TIME WITH 2500 HOURS OF FIXED WING TIME. RECORDS WERE RECOVERED TO DOCUMENT ABOUT 261 HOURS OF ACTUAL HELICOPTER TIME. THE PILOT HAD RECEIVED ABOUT 50 HOURS OF DUAL INSTRUCTION FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CHIEF PILOT IN THEIR TYPE OF OPERATIONS.
Probable Cause: the pilot's poor judgement by intentionally flying into adverse weather conditions in mountainous terrain with an external load and no observer which resulted in loss of aircraft control. Factors were pressure from the conditions/events and a lack of total experience in the type of operation.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX95GA264
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 09-Apr-2024 13:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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