ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 293251
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| Date: | Thursday 4 August 2005 |
| Time: | 07:30 LT |
| Type: | Steele Safari |
| Owner/operator: | Kurt Mason |
| Registration: | N13MA |
| MSN: | BB2058 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 308 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320-B2C |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Leavenworth, WA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Cashmere, WA (8S2) |
| Everett-Snohomish County Airport, WA (PAE/KPAE) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
While in cruise flight about 1,000 feet above ground level (agl), the pilot heard a loud grinding sound and felt a significant vibration in the airframe of the helicopter. The aircraft then swung to the right, so the pilot elected to reduce the throttle and perform an autorotation to a nearby open field. During the attempted autorotational landing on the soft grassy terrain, the aircraft touched down, bounced back into the air, turned about 300 degrees, and then touched down a second time. During the second touchdown, the aircraft rolled over onto its left side. During the accident sequence, the main rotor blades flexed downward and came in contact with the tail boom. When the pilot inspected the helicopter at the scene, he found that all of its components, except for the tail rotor drive shaft, were there at that one location. Although he searched the local area for the tail rotor drive shaft, he was unable to locate it. The drive shaft was later found by a local resident several hundred feet from the location where the helicopter touched down. After being recovered to a hangar, the aircraft was inspected by an FAA Airworthiness Inspector, who determined that the tail rotor drive shaft had failed in cruise flight at a location near where it attaches to the main rotor transmission assembly. The reason for the failure of the shaft could not be positively determined.
Probable Cause: The failure of the tail rotor drive shaft during cruise flight. Factors include soft, grassy terrain at the location where the pilot executed the autorotational landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB SEA05LA163
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Oct-2022 17:54 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
| 22-Sep-2023 09:58 | Ron Averes | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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