# Accident 20070721015599A: Hughes 369D, Omak, WA, July 21, 2007

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 21, 2007, 16:15 local time
- Place: Omak, WA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Hovering
- Operating rules: Rotorcraft external load (Part 133)
- Operator: PHAL
- Location: 48.2919° N, 119.5031° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.2919&lon=-119.5031&mi=10
- Aircraft: N69PF, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N69PF) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D (registry code 4470706, https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-helicopters-hughes-369d) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 369D
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 5,029 total, 3,700 in this make and model, 63 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA07TA212](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA07TA212) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070721015599A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 07-21-07 AT APPROXIMATELY 1615 HOURS LOCAL TIME, WHILE DIPPING WATER FOR FIRE FIGHTING OPERATIONS, THE COMMERCIAL PILOT ALLOWED THE TAIL ROTOR OF THE HU-369-D TO STRIKE THE LAKE SURFACE. AFTER FEELING A VIBRATION IN THE HELICOPTER, THE PILOT LEVELED THE AIRCRAFT AND CAME TO A HOVER WHEN THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE FOLLOWED BY LOSS OF TAIL ROTOR AUTHORITY. THE PILOT THEN REDUCED THE POWER AND ALLOWED THE AIRCRAFT TO SETTLE INTO 3 TO 4 FEET OF WATER WHERE IT CAME TO REST IN AN UPRIGHT-TAIL DOWN ATTITUDE. THERE WAS NO PRE- OR POST-ACCIDENT FIRE AND NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT, WHO WAS THE LONE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT.

## 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 SEA07TA212](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA07TA212), Jul 22, 2007: Hughes 369D (N69PF), Omak, WA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the surface of a pond that he was using as a water bucket refill site, which resulted in a tail rotor strike to the water's surface and a torsional…

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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