ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 291867
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| Date: | Saturday 26 August 2006 |
| Time: | 23:21 LT |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350 B3 |
| Owner/operator: | Phi, Inc. |
| Registration: | N973AE |
| MSN: | 3229 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1999 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4530 hours |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Arriel 2B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Casa Grande, Arizona -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Casa Grande Hel, AZ |
| Phoenix, AZ | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The engine lost power during an attempted takeoff, and the helicopter landed hard. Just prior to the accident flight, the adjusted valve assembly on the engine was removed and replaced. Following this maintenance, the pilot flew the helicopter to a hospital where a flight paramedic and nurse boarded the helicopter. Upon liftoff, the engine lost power and the helicopter landed hard. Post accident test run and examination of the engine showed that uncommanded shutdowns of the engine would occur at higher power settings. Disassembly of the adjusted valve assembly revealed that the stop electro valve was damaged internally. The damage consisted of a deformation of the core housing which would not allow the stop electro valve to completely open during operation. In this condition, a pressure drop would occur, which would lead to an untimely activation of the stop purge valve and a fuel flow drop. The adjusted valve assembly had been overhauled by the engine manufacturer and then sold to the operator, prior to its installation on the engine. The engine manufacturer indicated that this damage occurred between the time the component was shipped from the factory and its first use, however, they could not ascertain how the damage occurred. The damage was not apparent until the unit was disassembled. Metallurgical examination showed that the damage occurred when the valve was in a disassembled condition.
Probable Cause: Internal damage to the stop electro valve which resulted in fuel starvation and subsequent loss of engine power during takeoff.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX06LA273
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Oct-2022 06:08 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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