20040711015009A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Hughes 369D · Nome, AK · July 11, 2004

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal NTSB investigation search

Date: July 11, 2004 · 15:30 local
Place: Nome, AK
Airport: Nome
Phase of flight: Other Ground Ops
Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator: EOOA
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: CGLHQ
Reported as: Hughes 369D
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 2,600 total1,200 in this make and model150 in the last 90 days

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) Airman landed on a knife blade ridge with the aircraft into the wind. The steady state wind was approximately 20 knots. The airman shut the engine down and applied the rotor brake at the approximate time but before the rotor had stopped turning, at approximately 30 to 40 RPM, the wind gusted to a higher velocity causing one rotor blade to strike the tail boom of the helicopter, wrinkling one rotor blade and denting the tailboom. privacy data omitted

As the FAA filed it

(-23) AIRMAN LANDED ON A KNIFE BLADE RIDGE WITH THE AIRCRAFT INTO THE WIND. THE STEADY STATE WIND WAS APPROXIMATELY 20 KNOTS. THE AIRMAN SHUT THE ENGINE DOWN AND APPLIED THE ROTOR BRAKE AT THE APPROXIMATE TIME BUT BEFORE THE ROTOR HAD STOPPED TURNING, AT APPROXIMATELY 30 TO 40 RPM, THE WIND GUSTED TO A HIGHER VELOCITY CAUSING ONE ROTOR BLADE TO STRIKE THE TAIL BOOM OF THE HELICOPTER, WRINKLING ONE ROTOR BLADE AND DENTING THE TAILBOOM. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED