19970322011409I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Bell UH1H · Pierson, FL · March 22, 1997

Date: March 22, 1997 · 11:00 local
Place: Pierson, FL
Phase of flight: Hovering
Operating rules: Rotorcraft external load (Part 133)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N6195C
Reported as: Bell UH1H
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 4,554 total2,400 in this make and model25 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.

Narrative: main drive shaft from engine to xsmn failed due to fatigue cracking. Drive shaft came loose, destroyed the particle separator and the engine ingested the debris. This resulted in an engine failure due to f.o.d. a normal autorotation was made with no subsequent damage to helicopter. Kamatic m/d/s ser #0150 pn SKCP2281-103, sent to Bell helicopter for analysis. Total time on main drive shaft is 5320 hours.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: MAIN DRIVE SHAFT FROM ENGINE TO XSMN FAILED DUE TO FATIGUE CRACKING. DRIVE SHAFT CAME LOOSE, DESTROYED THE PARTICLE SEPARATOR AND THE ENGINE INGESTED THE DEBRIS. THIS RESULTED IN AN ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO F.O.D. A NORMAL AUTOROTATION WAS MADE WITH NO SUBSEQUENT DAMAGE TO HELICOPTER. KAMATIC M/D/S SER #0150 PN SKCP2281-103, SENT TO BELL HELICOPTER FOR ANALYSIS. TOTAL TIME ON MAIN DRIVE SHAFT IS 5320 HOURS.