# Incident 20030410009879I: Snias AS350B2, Wakeeney, KS, April 10, 2003

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 10, 2003, 13:30 local time
- Place: Wakeeney, KS
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: IJAA
- Location: 39.0234° N, 99.8815° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of WaKeeney, KS, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.0234&lon=-99.8815&mi=10
- Aircraft: N409EM (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: SNIAS AS350B2
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,108 total, 215 in this make and model, 35 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030410009879I

## Narrative

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

(-23) PRIOR TO THIS FLIGHT, THE PILOT COMPLETED A PREFLIGHT INSPECTION AND FOUND ALL PANELS AND LATCHES CLOSED. DURING A VFR, CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT, THE PILOT HEARD A NOISE AND LANDED AT THE WAKEENEY, KS AIRPORT TO INVESTIGATE. HE FOUND THE RIGHT HAND TRANSMISSION COWLING WAS MISSING FROM THE AIRCRAFT. AN INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED SLIGHT DAMAGE TO TWO MAIN ROTOR SLEEVES AND THE TAIL ROTOR BLADES. A SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED FOR THE MISSING COWLING, BUT IT WAS NOT FOUND. WHY THE COWLING CAME OFF COULD NOT BE DETERMINED, BUT THE PILOT SUSPECTED A MATERIAL FAILURE AROUND ONE OF THE LATCHES.

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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