ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 295092
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| Date: | Wednesday 15 October 2003 |
| Time: | 12:27 LT |
| Type: |  Bell UH-1H |
| Owner/operator: | Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District |
| Registration: | N114FD |
| MSN: | 72-21558 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1972 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3956 hours |
| Engine model: | Honeywell T53-L-13B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Sacramento, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Rancho Murietta, CA |
| Sacramento-McClellan Airfield, CA (MCC/KMCC) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter landed hard following a loss of engine power in the traffic pattern. The pilot reported that he picked up the helicopter after maintenance was performed on the audio and visual low rpm warning systems and was positioning the helicopter to back to the airport. As he entered the pattern, he heard a bang and what he described as "a horribly loud grinding sound coming from the rear of the aircraft," and lost engine power. The pilot entered an autorotation to a clear area on the airport. As the helicopter neared the touchdown point, the pilot realized the selected landing area was sloped and so he increased collective to extend the glide to reach a flat area. The helicopter landed hard. A teardown and examination of the engine disclosed that the type and degree of damage to the engine was indicative of the separation of a portion of a planetary reduction gear, which resulted in a piece of inlet housing entering the compressor. This resulted in damage to the compressor airfoils and a loss of power. The separation of the portion of planetary reduction gear was determined to be the result of a fatigue fracture emanating from the aft root corner of one gear tooth. The root cause of the fatigue fracture could not be determined due to smearing of the initiation site. The planetary gears installed in the engine were military direct purchase breakout parts. The engine manufacturer does not approve of the use of military direct purchase hardware in FAA certified or military surplus engines used in public-use operations.
Probable Cause: The loss of engine power due to the fatigue failure of a planetary reduction gear.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX04TA018
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Oct-2022 17:55 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
| 31-May-2023 07:02 | Ron Averes | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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