20070908018469A

Accident · Minor damage

FAA accident report · Hughes 369D · Yakima, WA · September 8, 2007

Date: September 8, 2007 · 15:30 local
Place: Yakima, WA
Phase of flight: Other Ground Ops
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N31HM
NTSB investigation: NTSBLAX07LA270
Reported as: Hughes 369D
People aboard: 3
Fatal injuries: 1
Pilot’s flight hours: 26,000 total600 in this make and model200 in the last 90 days

N31HMRegistered now · Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369DS/N 1160027D · Built 1977 Airframe modelHughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D Engine modelAllison 250-C20 seriesTurbo-prop

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) Aircraft was being operated for wild game capture, with a pilot and two additional crew. They landed with tips of skids touching only. One person got out and the other was exiting when the pilot heard the first person get hit with the main rotor. He had walked to the up hillside of the helicopter and walked into the rotor. He was fatally injured.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) AIRCRAFT WAS BEING OPERATED FOR WILD GAME CAPTURE, WITH A PILOT AND TWO ADDITIONAL CREW. THEY LANDED WITH TIPS OF SKIDS TOUCHING ONLY. ONE PERSON GOT OUT AND THE OTHER WAS EXITING WHEN THE PILOT HEARD THE FIRST PERSON GET HIT WITH THE MAIN ROTOR. HE HAD WALKED TO THE UP HILLSIDE OF THE HELICOPTER AND WALKED INTO THE ROTOR. HE WAS FATALLY INJURED.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.

NTSB LAX07LA270Accident · 1 fatalLimited investigationFinal reportEllensburg, WAThe passenger's inadequate visual lookout and failure to maintain clearance from the rotating main rotor disc while the helicopter was hovering. An uphill terrain condition was a factorSep 8, 2007 · No damage

Other reports on N31HM · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

Accident 20130729015279AHover/Holding · Folsom, WVFolsom, WV: N31HM, a H369D, while performing power line right-of-way tree triming, experienced a sudden engine power loss. The rotorcraft settled into heavy vegitation and was substantially damaged. The pilot sustained only minor injuries.Jul 29, 2013 · Substantial damage