19900510015639A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Hughes 369E · Firebaugh, CA · May 10, 1990

Date
May 10, 1990 · 18:00 local
Place
Firebaugh, CA
Phase of flight
Pwr Off Vert Land/Autorotate
Operating rules
Rotorcraft external load (Part 133)
Operator
CUCL
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N5217N
NTSB investigation
NTSBLAX90LA171
Reported as
Hughes 369E
Reported engine
Allison 250C20B
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
7,372 total1,045 in this make and model63 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Compressor section failed after placing load. Dropped line. Autorotated to hard landing. Rotors chopped tailboom.

As the FAA filed it

COMPRESSOR SECTION FAILED AFTER PLACING LOAD. DROPPED LINE. AUTOROTATED TO HARD LANDING. ROTORS CHOPPED TAILBOOM.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.