# Accident 19970912026529A: Hughes 369HS, Brinkley, AR, September 12, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 12, 1997, 18:15 local time
- Place: Brinkley, AR
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: M8SA
- Location: 34.8805° N, 91.1802° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.8805&lon=-91.1802&mi=10
- Aircraft: N107CW (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 369HS
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C18A
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 18,000 total, 250 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97LA347](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA347) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970912026529A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

HELICOPTER EXPERIENCED SUSPECTED TAIL ROTOR FAILURE. (.4)THE PILOT WAS TRANSPORTING A TELEVISION CREW TO SEVERAL HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAMES.  HE HAD REMOVED THE LEFT REAR DOOR OF THE AIRCRAFT TO FACILITATE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE GAMES.  THE HELICOPTER WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT AT APPROXIMATELY 500 FEET AGL WHEN THE PILOT HEARD A LOUD BANG AND THE AIRCRAFT MADE A RIGHT YAW.  THE PILOT SAID THAT MOVEMENT OF THE DIRECTIONAL CONTROL PEDALS WAS INEFFECTIVE.  HE MADE A RUN-ON LANDING, BUT THE HELICOPTER IMPACTED TWO LEVEES SEPARATING THE RIGHT SKID FROM THE AIRCRAFT.  THE AIRCRAFT ROTATED TO THE RIGHT AND CAME TO A STOP UPRIGHT.  POSTCRASH EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT HAD SEPARATED NEAR ITS MID POINT.  ONE OF THE TAIL ROTOR BLADES HAD SEVEN SMALL INDENTATIONS (SIMILAR TO A ZIPPER) ON ONE EIGHTH INCH CENTERS NEAR THE TIP OF THE BLADE.  HE REPORTED THAT THE 'THREE OUTBOARD MARKS ON THE TOP OF THE BLADE ALSO EXHIBITED SPAN-WISE STREAKS WITH A BRASS LIKE APPEARANCE, WHICH MAY BE TRANSFERRED METAL.'  TESTS BY THE AIRCRAFT'S MANUFACTURER REVEALED THE MATERIAL TRANSFERRED TO THE TAIL ROTOR BLADE LEADING EDGE WAS BRASS.  NONE OF THE PASSENGERS REMEMBER                       LOSING ANY PERSONAL ITEMS DURING THE FLIGHT. (-23) ENROUTE FROM BRINKLEY, AR TO MARIANNA, AR, WHILE CRUISING AT 500 FT AGL/100KTS, AN AUDIBLE "POP" OCCURRED, FOLLOWED BY LOSS OF ANTI-TORQUE SYSTEM RESPONSE. THE PILOT ELECTED TO EXECUTE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN A RICE FIELD SEVERAL MILES SOUTHEAST OF BRINKLEY. A RUN-ON LANDING WAS ACCOMPLISHED IN THE RICE FIELD, RESULTING IN SUBSTANTIAL AIRFRAME DAMAGE DUE TO THE COLLISION OF THE RIGHT HAND SKID WITH A LEVY. THE HELICOPTER SETTLED ON THE GROUND ON IT'S RIGHT HAND SIDE, FAILING THE TAIL BOOM AND CAUSING A MAIN ROTOR GROUND STRIKE. THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT WAS OBSERVED TO BE FAILED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW97LA347](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA347), Sep 12, 1997: Hughes MDL-369HS (N107CW), Brinkley, AR, substantial damage. Probable cause: The in flight collision of the tail rotor blade with an object that had a brass zipper on it, and the subsequent overload and failure of the tail rotor drive shaft. Factors were the object with the…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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