ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 193816
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| Date: | Friday 24 February 2017 |
| Time: | 18:23 |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N44EK |
| MSN: | 0690 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1999 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2006 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540 SERIES |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Chatham, Morris County, New Jersey -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Millville, NJ (MIV) |
| Lincoln Park, NJ (N07) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The private pilot was on the second leg of a cross-country flight in the helicopter. After about 45 minutes and while in cruise flight at 1,800 ft mean sea level, the engine lost total power; the low rpm warning sounded, and the pilot initiated an autorotation in the congested area during nighttime conditions. During the autorotation, the helicopter struck a building, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the crankshaft gear bolt was about 3/16 inch from the seated position. The safety lockplate washer was worn, the back of the bolt head displayed rotational scoring, the bottom threads of the bolt were damaged, and the alignment dowel had sheared. The engine had accumulated 5.9 hours total time since undergoing major overhaul about 1 year before the accident. It is likely that, when the engine was overhauled, the crankshaft gear bolt was not properly seated against the gear, which resulted in the crankshaft gear disengaging from the accessory gears and a subsequent total loss of engine power.
Probable Cause: Maintenance personnel's improper installation and inspection of the crankshaft gear bolt during major overhaul, which resulted in the crankshaft gear disengaging from the accessory gears of the engine and a subsequent loss of power.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: 2. FAA: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=44EK
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 18 December 2005 | N44EK | Echo Kilo, Inc. | 0 | Linden, New Jersey | |
sub |
Location
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Feb-2017 08:06 | gerard57 | Added |
| 25-Feb-2017 08:07 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Source] |
| 25-Feb-2017 16:28 | Geno | Updated [Time, Operator, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 01-Mar-2017 20:04 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 16-Oct-2018 00:47 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 19-Apr-2020 07:02 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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