ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 201101
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| Date: | Tuesday 7 November 2017 |
| Time: | 09:34 |
| Type: |  Hughes 369D |
| Owner/operator: | Winco, Inc. |
| Registration: | N138WH |
| MSN: | 911027D |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 9595 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls Royce 250-C20R/2 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Calcasieu Parish north of Sulphur, LA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | External load operation |
| Departure airport: | Sulphur, LA |
| Sulphur, LA | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The commercial pilot was conducting an external load flight with two linemen hoisted beneath the helicopter on a long line. The pilot reported that, as he maintained a hover over the power lines, the long line contacted the shield wire as one of the linemen held onto a conductor bundle. The long line severed about midspan as the pilot turned the helicopter into the wind and attempted to move the linemen away from the conductor bundle. The two linemen were fatally injured when they fell about 100 ft to the ground. The pilot returned to the landing zone and landed uneventfully.
The pilot did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Video footage of the accident confirmed that the helicopter's synthetic long line severed after extended lateral contact with the braided steel shield wire.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate separation between a long line being used to hoist linemen from a shield wire during an external load flight, which resulted in the long line being severed.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=138WH
https://www.kplctv.com/story/36784688/authorities-confirmed-two-contractors-are-dead-following-an-accident-in-sulphur/
http://aerossurance.com/helicopters/fatal-h369-powerline-hec/
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 2 July 2000 | N88MP | Florida Department of Natural Resoures | 0 | DESTIN, Florida | |
sub |
Location
Media:
Two power line workers fall to their deaths from helicopter in Sulphur https://t.co/cJ3O1Y1SsI pic.twitter.com/ijkUoyDYj8
— 12NewsNow (@12NewsNow) November 7, 2017
#NTSB: Fatal Powerline Human External Cargo (HEC) Flight (Winco Hughes 369D #helicopter N138WH) The long line abraded against a power cable. Two linesmen died.https://t.co/0AC5yuqJek#flightsafety pic.twitter.com/j8RUHZG1Jd
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) December 27, 2019
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Nov-2017 23:28 | Geno | Added |
| 09-Nov-2017 09:00 | Aerossurance | Updated [Nature, Narrative] |
| 24-Nov-2017 00:24 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 11-Nov-2019 17:40 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Source, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
| 26-Dec-2019 11:53 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 27-Dec-2019 10:36 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 27-Dec-2019 11:32 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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