# Accident 20020621012599A: Hughes OH6A, Circlehotspring, AK, June 21, 2002 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: June 21, 2002, 23:19 local time - Place: Circlehotspring, AK - Damage: No damage - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 65.5019° N, 145.3861° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=65.5019&lon=-145.3861&mi=10 - Aircraft: N345SD, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N345SD-2018-03-22) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Hughes 369A (registry code 4470503, https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-369a) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Allison 250 SER 400HP (registry code 03013, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-ser-400hp) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: HUGHES OH6A - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC02FA057](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC02FA057) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020621012599A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON OR ABOUT 2319 HOURS (ADT) ON JUNE 21, 2002, LEE J. RUBLE, A PRIVATE PILOT, CERTIFICATE NUMBER #574168921, ACTING AS PILOT IN COMMAND OF N345SD, A HUGHES HU-369-OH6A HELICOPTER, TOOK OFF FROM EAGLE SUMMIT, APPROXIMATELY 23 STATUE MILES WEST OF CIRCLE HOT SPRINGS, AK, IN BLIZZARD-LIKE CONDITIONS. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND APPROXIMATELY 1/4 MILE FROM THE DEPARTURE POINT. THE AIRCRAFT HAD A PILOT AND THREE PASSENGERS ONBOARD. THERE WAS ONE FATALITY AND THREE PERSONS WITH SERIOUS INJURIES. THERE IS NO WEATHER REPORTING AVAILABLE IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACCIDENT. THERE WAS A PIREP FOR THAT AREA AND TIME GIVEN BY A ROBINSON R-44 WITH THE WEATHER AS 2500 OVERCAST, VISIBILITY LESS THAN 1 MILE IN SNOW, AND MODERATE TO SEVERE TURBULENCE. THE ACCIDENT HELICOPTER WAS OBSERVED TAKING OFF OF EAGLE SUMMIT IN NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WITH TWO HUNDRED FEET VISIBILITY. EAGLE SUMMIT IS OVER 4000 FEET IN ELEVATION; THE AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT SITE IS AT 3660 FEET IN ELEVATION. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ (.19) ON JUNE 21, 2002, ABOUT 2319 ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME, A HUGHES OH-6A HELICOPTER, N345SD, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF ABOUT 1 5 MILES WEST-SOUTHWEST OF CENTRAL, ALASKA. THE HELICOPTER WAS BEING OPERATED AS A VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) PERSONAL FLIGHT UNDER TITLE 14, CFR PART 91, WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE PRIVATE HELICOPTER PILOT/OPERATOR SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES, TWO OF THE THREE PASSENGERS ABOARD WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED, AND THE THIRD PASSENGER WAS FATALLY INJURED. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED IN THE AREA OF THE ACCIDENT, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT EAGLE SUMMIT, ABOUT 15 MILES WEST-SOUTHWEST OF CENTRAL, AND WAS BOUND FOR CIRCLE HOT SPRINGS, ABOUT EIGHT MILES SOUTHEAST OF CENTRAL. ON-SITE INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD (NTSB) INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE (IIC), ON JUNE 22. WITNESSES SAID THE ENGAGED COUPLE WAS TRANSPORTED TO EAGLE SUMMIT IN THE HELICOPTER FOR A MOUNTAINTOP WEDDING CEREMONY. WITNESSES/GUESTS SAID WHEN THEY ARRIVED ON EAGLE SUMMIT IN THEIR PERSONAL VEHICLES, IT WAS WINDY, BUT VISIBILITY WAS GOOD, AND THE CLOUDS WERE HIGH ABOVE THE SUMMIT. THEY SAID THEY COULD SEE WORSENING WEATHER APPROACHING FROM THE NORTH. WITNESSES SAID SHORTLY AFTER THE HELICOPTER ARRIVED, THE WEATHER CLOSED IN, AND IT BEGAN TO SNOW. THEY SAID VISIBILITY WAS REDUCED TO 100 TO 300 FEET IN WET, HEAVY, BLOWING SNOW. THE WEDDING CEREMONY WAS CONCLUDED QUICKLY, AND THE PILOT VOICED CONCERNS ABOUT HAVING TO LEAVE THE HELICOPTER ON THE MOUNTAINTOP OVER NIGHT. THE PILOT AND HIS WIFE BOARDED THE HELICOPTER AND OCCUPIED THE FRONT TWO SEATS, AND THE BRIDE AND GROOM OCCUPIED THE TWO REAR SEATS. WITNESSES SAID THE HELICOPTER LIFTED OFF OF THE GROUND, MADE A RIGHT TURN, AND DISAPPEARED INTO THE BLOWING SNOW EN ROUTE TO CIRCLE HOT SPRINGS. THEY SAID THEY HAD TO REMOVE AN ACCUMULATION OF WET, HEAVY SNOW FROM THEIR CARS PRIOR TO DESCENDING ALONG THE SUMMIT ACCESS ROAD TO REACH THE STEESE HIGHWAY EN ROUTE TO CIRCLE HOT SPRINGS. ABOUT TWO-TENTHS OF A MILE EAST ON STEESE HIGHWAY, WEDDING GUESTS SPOTTED THE CRASHED HELICOPTER. IT WAS LYING ON ITS BELLY, FACING THE HIGHWAY, IN AN OPEN, DOWN-SLOPED AREA, ABOUT 60 YARDS NORTH OF THE HIGHWAY. THE TAIL BOOM, TAIL ROTORS, AND MAIN ROTOR SYSTEM WERE SEPARATED FROM THE HELICOPTER, AND THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING. THE OCCUPANTS OF THE HELICOPTER WERE EVACUATED FROM THE HELICOPTER BY THE WEDDING GUESTS, AND MOVED TO THE HIGHWAY. DUE TO THE REMOTENESS OF THE AREA, THE OCCUPANTS WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL BY PRIVATE AUTOMOBILE. THE WITNESSES SAID THE HELICOPTER ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING AT A HIGH RPM WHEN THEY LEFT THE AREA. INTERVIEWS WITH THE PILOT AND PASSENGERS HAVE NOT BEEN CONDUCTED DUE TO THEIR CURRENT MEDICAL CONDITION. ## 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 ANC02FA057](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC02FA057), Jun 22, 2002: Hughes OH-6A (N345SD), Central, AK, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's intentional flight into adverse weather conditions, and his failure to maintain altitude/clearance, which resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain. Factors contributing to 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.