# Accident 20050203001489A: Hughes 369HS, Provo, UT, February 3, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 3, 2005, 08:00 local time
- Place: Provo, UT
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Pwr On Vertical Ldng/Rtrcrft
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: W9EA
- Location: 40.2208° N, 111.6895° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.2208&lon=-111.6895&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9118F, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9118F) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hughes 369HS (registry code 4470728, https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-369hs) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250 SER 400HP (registry code 03013, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-ser-400hp) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 369HS
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 8,500 total, 50 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN05LA056](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN05LA056) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050203001489A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT STATES THAT DURING A MISSION TO PERFORM AVALANCHE CONTROL IN HIGH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN, 10,000' TO 11,400' AT SOME POINT HE WAS HOVERING AT ABOUT 4' WHEN HE DETECTED SOME UNUSUAL VIBRATIONS IN BOTH PEDALS. HE DECIDED TO REPOSITION TO A BETTER LANDING AREA AND WHILE DOING SO THE VIBRATIONS WORSENED AND HE HEARD A "CLANKING SOUND" FOLLOWED BY A SPIN TO THE RIGHT, HE IMMEDIATELY PERFORMED A HOVERING AUTOROTATION. THE AIRCRAFT SETTLED INTO THE SNOW UPRIGHT AND WITH NO DAMAGE. THE PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS EXITED THE AIRCRAFT AND WERE EVENTUALLY TAKEN FROM THE SITE BY ANOTHER HELICOPTER. THE PILOT INSPECTED THE AIRCRAFT AND DETERMINED THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT HAD SHEARED. THE CAUSE OF THE SHEAR IS TO BE DETERMINED AFTER THE AIRCRAFT IS RECOVERED. BECAUSE OF THE ALTITUDE AND PROBLEMS FINDING A HELICOPTER CAPABLE OF SLINGING THE AIRCRAFT OUT THE FSDO HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO INSPECT THE AIRCRAFT. THE PLAN IS THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN DURING THE WEEK OF FEB. 22-26, 2005. AFTER ACCESS TO THE AIRCRAFT IS POSSIBLE THIS REPORT WILL BE AMENDED TO REFLECT AN ON-SITE INVESTIGATION AND IF NEW INFORMATION IS OBTAINED THAT WILL ALSO BE NOTED.                                                      (-23 AMENDMENT) WHILE LANDING AT A SNOW COVERED LZ AT APPROXIMATELY 10,300 FEET THE PILOT INADVERTENTLY ALLOWED THE TAILROTOR TO DIG INTO THE SNOW DURING THE FLARE TO LAND. THE PILOT WAS CERTAIN THAT HE DID NOT HAVE A TAILROTOR STRIKE HOWEVER, WITNESS, LAB AND PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE INDICATES THE TAILROTOR WENT ABOUT 6 INCHES INTO THE SNOW AT A POINT CONSISTENT WITH THE POINT OF THE LANDING FLARE. THE PILOT LIKELY EXPERIENCED A HEIGHT DEPTH PERCEPTION ILLUSION CAUSED BY THE LIGHT AND SNOW CONDITIONS WHICH LED HIM TO BELIEVE HE WAS AT A SAFE HEIGHT DURING THE LANDING FLARE.

## 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 DEN05LA056](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN05LA056), Feb 3, 2005: Hughes 369HS (N9118F), Provo, UT, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's improper in-flight planning and decision making, his failure to maintain terrain clearance, and the total failure of the tail rotor drive shaft as a result of the tail rotor strike.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.