# Incident 20030226005919I: Hughes 369E, Torrance, CA, February 26, 2003

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 26, 2003, 12:10 local time
- Place: Torrance, CA
- Airport: Torrance Municipal Airport
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.8305° N, 118.3566° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Torrance, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8305&lon=-118.3566&mi=10
- Aircraft: N234RF, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N234RF) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E (registry code 3027369, https://openairdocs.org/model/mcdonnell-douglas-helicopter-369e) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 369E
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,900 total, 400 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030226005919I

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON FEBRUARY 26, 2003, ABOUT 1210 PST, HELICOPTER N234RF, AN MDH-369E, OPERATED AS A 14 CFR PART 91 PUBLIC-USE AIRCRAFT BY THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF AERO UNIT, EXPERIENCED A TAIL ROTOR FAILURE IN FLIGHT. THE CREW, CONSISTING OF ONE PILOT AND ONE OBSERVER, DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND MADE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING AT TORRANCE, CA AIRPORT. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT AND NO INJURIES TO EITHER CREWMEMBER. AN NTSB INVESTIGATOR EXAMINED THE AIRCRAFT AT THE LA SHERIFF'S HANGER AT LONG BEACH AIRPORT ON FEBRUARY 27, 2003 AND DETERMINED THAT PART NUMBER 500P310-101, SERIAL NUMBER A521, A TAIL ROTOR COMPONENT, FAILED IN FLIGHT. THE FAILED PART WAS RECOVERED AND SHIPPED TO THE NTSB MATERIALS LABORATORY IN WASHINGTON, D.C. FOR FURTHER EXAMINATION AND EVALUATION. THE OPERATOR FILED AN M OR D REPORT.

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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