ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 286458
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Thursday 22 October 2009 |
| Time: | 19:20 LT |
| Type: |  Agusta A119 |
| Owner/operator: | Tristate Careflight LLC |
| Registration: | N119AH |
| MSN: | 14022 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2001 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4122 hours |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6B-37A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Blythe, California -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Blythe Airport, CA (BLH/KBLH) |
| Palm Springs, CA (7CA4) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During the emergency medical service (EMS) flight, while enroute at 4,500 feet mean sea level, the pilot heard a change in the sound of the main rotor system, followed by a vibration in the cyclic. He applied aft cyclic to slow the helicopter and noticed the rotor rpm starting to decay. After he lowered the collective in an attempt to regain rotor rpm everything appeared to stabilize. The pilot then increased the collective to see if he could re-establish cruise power, but the increase in collective resulted in the low rotor aural warning activating. When the pilot lowered the collective, the warning went out, and when he tried to maintain rotor rpm by using the throttle in the manual mode there was no change, which resulted in the warning system activating again. The pilot then lowered the collective, returned the throttle to the normal position and began a descent, touching down in soft dirt and sliding forward before coming to rest upright. The helicopter was substantially damaged as a result of the hard landing, which separated the tail section. During the postaccident examination, the engine was tested in the gas generator and the power turbine modes, as well as the electronic engine control (EEC) and mechanical engine control (MEC) modes. The engine was observed to run normally to all inputs in gas generator, EEC and MEC control modes, with manual override also observed to function normally. During a subsequent engine test a reduction in gas generator speed of 8 percent occurred, with the engine fully recovering power in about 5 seconds. Additional testing could not replicate the power reduction as previously observed, and the reason for the reported loss of engine power could not be definitively determined.
Probable Cause: The loss of engine power during cruise flight for undetermined reasons.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB WPR10FA029
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 12 June 2002 | N911SL | St. Lucie Co Sheriff | 0 | Okeechobee, FL | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Oct-2022 11:06 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation