ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 294965
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| Date: | Monday 24 November 2003 |
| Time: | 19:00 LT |
| Type: |  Eurocopter France AS 350 B3 |
| Owner/operator: | U.s. Border Patrol, Air Operations |
| Registration: | N846BP |
| MSN: | 3542 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2002 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 813 hours |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Arriel A2 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Yuma, Arizona -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Yuma International Airport, AZ (YUM/KYUM) |
| Yuma International Airport, AZ (YUM/KYUM) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter encountered a total loss of drive to the rotor system a few seconds after takeoff, about 20 feet above the ground. The helicopter touched down hard and was substantially damaged. Company mechanics had performed maintenance on the helicopter that involved handling of the rotor drive shaft and a flex coupling. The flex coupling is normally secured with three bolts and self locking nuts. The manufacturer's maintenance procedure requires that during installation, the nuts are torqued and then cotter pins are inserted. During the wreckage examination, the bolts were found sheared, and no evidence of cotter pins were found. According to the manufacturer, even if the cotter pins are not installed, if the bolts are adequately torqued, they should not become loose.
Probable Cause: The malfunction of the rotor drive system due to improper maintenance, which resulted in the uncoupling of the drive shaft during takeoff-initial climb. A factor associated with the accident is the undertorqued drive system bolts.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX04TA052
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Oct-2022 16:21 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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