# Accident 20021031037779A: Hughes OH6A, Marietta, PA, October 31, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 31, 2002, 17:51 local time
- Place: Marietta, PA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.1217° N, 76.2958° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.1217&lon=-76.2958&mi=10
- Aircraft: N817SC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N817SC-2020-05-02) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hughes OH-6A (registry code 4470905, https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-oh-6a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES OH6A
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,916 total, 338 in this make and model, 86 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD03LA011](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD03LA011) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021031037779A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON OCTOBER 31, 2002, AT 1721 HOURS LOCAL EASTERN DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME, A HUGHES HELICOPTER HU-369-OH6A, N817SC, FLEW INTO THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER WHILE FLYING AT LOW LEVELS OVER THE RIVER IN EAST DONEGAL TOWNSHIP, PA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AND WAS SUBMERGED IN FOURTEEN FEET OF WATER. THREE PEOPLE WERE ON BOARD, ONE RECEIVING MINOR INJURIES AND TWO WITH SERIOUS INJURIES.

## 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 IAD03LA011](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD03LA011), Oct 31, 2002: Hughes 369A (N817SC), Marietta, PA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The flight instructor 's misjudgment of the helicopter's height above the river.

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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