# Accident 20020710019959A: Skrsky S58ET, Brookville, IN, July 10, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 10, 2002, 16:00 local time
- Place: Brookville, IN
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: JTKL
- Location: 39.5100° N, 84.9997° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.5100&lon=-84.9997&mi=10
- Aircraft: N580US, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N580US-2003-01-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Sikorsky S-58ET (registry code 8141803, https://openairdocs.org/model/sikorsky-s-58et) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-6 (registry code 52106, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6t-6) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SKRSKY S58ET
- Reported engine: PWA PT6T6
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 4,200 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI02FA189](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI02FA189) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020710019959A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON JULY 10, 2002, ABOUT 1615 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A SIKORSKI S-58ET HELICOPTER, N580US, PILOTED BY A COMMERCIAL PILOT, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT STRUCK POWERLINES AND SUBSEQUENTLY IMPACTED INTO BROOKVILLE LAKE, BROOKVILLE, INDIANA. THE HELICOPTER WAS MANEUVERING AT LOW ALTITUDE WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE 14 CFR PART 91 POSITIONING FLIGHT WAS OPERATING IN VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS WITHOUT A FLIGHT PLAN. THE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES. A SECOND PASSENGER WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, AND WAS BOUND FOR AN UNDETERMINED DESTINATION IN OHIO. (-23) THE HELICOPTER CRASHED INTO BROOKVILLE RESERVOIR, LOCATED IN EASTERN INDIANA. THE HELICOPTER STRUCK A SERIES OF POWER LINES THAT WERE ACROSS AN AREA KNOWN AS WOLF CREEK. THE POWER LINES WERE LOCATED 124 FEET ABOVE THE WATER LEVEL. ONE POWER LINE WAS SEVERED AND THE TOP HIGH-TENSION SUPPORT WIRE HAD WITNESS MARKS INDICATING A STRIKE AS WELL. THE HELICOPTER CAME TO REST IN TWO PIECES IN 30 TO 42 FEET OF WATER. THERE WERE THREE CREWMEMBERS ON BOARD, A PILOT AND TWO GROUND CREW MEMBERS. THE PILOT AND OTHER COCKPIT CRE                                         WMEMBER ESCAPES WITH INJURIES. THE THIRD CREWMEMBER WAS TRAVELING IN THE LOWER COMPARTMENT OF THE HELICOPTER AND WAS UNABLE TO EXIT. HIS BODY WAS RECOVERED IN THE COMPARTMENT APPROXIMATELY 18 HOURS LATER.

## 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 CHI02FA189](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI02FA189), Jul 10, 2002: Sikorsky S-58ET (N580US), Brookville, IN, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's intentional low altitude fight and his failure to maintain clearance from power transmission lines. Factors to the accident were the power transmission lines followed by the inability to…

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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