# Accident 20060916026839A: Hughes 369FF, Garrettsville, OH, September 16, 2006

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 16, 2006, 10:41 local time
- Place: Garrettsville, OH
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.5164° N, 82.8686° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.5164&lon=-82.8686&mi=10
- Aircraft: N530FF, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N530FF) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hughes Helicopters 369FF (registry code 4470709, https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-helicopters-369ff) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rolls-Royce 250-C30 (registry code 54023, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-250-c30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 369FF
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 12,650 total, 6,000 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI06CA266](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI06CA266) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060916026839A

## Narrative

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

(-23) HELICOPTER DOING LOW LEVEL AERIAL MAPPING OF UNEXPLODED ORDINANCE ON GOVERNMENT CONTRACT. TASK IS TO FLY A PRECISE CENTERLINE OVER MAPPING AREA AT AN AVERAGE CLEARANCE HEIGHT OF SIX FEET, WITH COURSE REVERSAL AND ADJACENT MAPPING LANE FLOWN IN OPPOSITE DIRECTION. A BOOM IS INSTALLED ON FRONT OF CRAFT TO DETECT ORDINANCE. BOOM EXTENDS OUT FORWARD AND HORIZONTALLY FROM NOSE. WHILE CRAFT WAS ON EASTERLY COURSE OVER MAP AREA (LAKE EIRE FT. PERRY AREA) AT 25 KNOTS OVER CALM LAKE SURFACE, A COURSE CORRECTION TO LEFT WAS INITIATED WITH 2 DEGREES BANK ANGLE. THIS RESULTED IN THE BOOM LIP TOUCHING THE SURFACE OF THE WATER, THE NOSE PITCHING DOWN CAUSING THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES TO STRIKE THE WATER. THE HELICOPTER BECAME INVERTED, SINKING WITHIN APPROXIMATELY 3 SECONDS. PILOT AND EQUIPMENT/CAMERA OPERATOR WERE ABLE TO EXIT WITH MINOR INJURIES AND SWIM TO SHORE (.75 MILES AWAY). AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN FUELED WITH 60 GALLONS, APPROX. 40 GALLONS OF FUEL WAS ON BOARD AT TIME OF ACCIDENT. HELO WITHIN 150 POUNDS OF GROSS WEIGHT WITH CG AT 99.17 IN. FROM DATUM, WITHIN LIMITS. THIS OPERATION, LOW LEVEL, IS NORMALLY CONDUCTED OVER DESERT, IN SUCH CONDITIONS IF THE BOOM TIP HITS THE GROUND IT SIMPLY FLEXES. THAT DID NOT OCCUR WITH WATER.

## 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 CHI06CA266](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI06CA266), Sep 16, 2006: MD Helicopters 369FF (N530FF), Port Clinton, OH, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot not maintaining clearance from the water during the survey flight. A factor was the low altitude the survey flight was flown at.

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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