20030210001889A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Hughes 369E · Paxon, AK · February 10, 2003

Date: February 10, 2003 · 11:15 local
Place: Paxon, AK
Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator: AX8S
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N500DX
NTSB investigation: NTSBANC03LA026
Reported as: Hughes 369E

N500DXRegistration cancelled Jan 8, 2018 · Hughes Helicopters 369ES/N 0121E Airframe modelHughes Helicopters 369E

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.

(-23) The pilot indicated that he was distracted by one of his passengers while encountering flat light conditions and flew the helicopter into terrain. privacy data omitted

As the FAA filed it

(-23) THE PILOT INDICATED THAT HE WAS DISTRACTED BY ONE OF HIS PASSENGERS WHILE ENCOUNTERING FLAT LIGHT CONDITIONS AND FLEW THE HELICOPTER INTO TERRAIN. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB ANC03LA026Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportPaxson, AKThe pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain. A factor contributing to the accident was the pilot's attention being diverted inside the cockpit to look at the global positioning system.Feb 10, 2003 · Substantial damage