# Accident 20110308003389A: Hughes 369D, Meeker, CO, March 8, 2011

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 8, 2011, 09:00 local time
- Place: Meeker, CO
- Airport: Meeker
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: Q0FA
- Location: 39.9164° N, 108.3675° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.9164&lon=-108.3675&mi=10
- Aircraft: N131AL, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N131AL) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D (registry code 4470706, https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-helicopters-hughes-369d) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rolls-Royce 250-C20B (registry code 54385, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-250-c20b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 369D
- Reported engine: ROLLS-ROYC 250-C20B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 2
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 7,500 total, 2,420 in this make and model, 318 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN11GA218](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11GA218) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110308003389A

## Narrative

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

N131AL, A HUGHES 369D, WAS BEING USED TO CAPTURE DEER FOR THE DIVISION OF WILDLIFE. AT ABOUT 1300 LOCAL TIME THEY WERE ABOUT TO NET ANOTHER DEER, AT ABOUT 50 FEET AGL. WHEN THE PILOT AND COPILOT HEARD A LOUD BANG FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER BANG AND THEN THE AIRCRAFT STARTED TO SPIN. THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED IN SOME TREES BOTH OCCUPANTS HAD SOME MINOR INJURIES. THE TAIL BOOM HAD SEPERATED AND WAS ABOUT 100 FEET FROM WHERE THE REST OF THE AIRCRAFT LANDED. THE INVESTIGATION SHOWED A ROTOR BLADE STRIKE ON THE TAIL BOOM WHICH COMPROMISED THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE TAIL BOOM. NO OTHER DAMAGE WAS FOUND ON THE TAIL BOOM THAT WOULD HAVE CAUSED THE TAIL BOOM TO SEPERATE FROM THE AIRCRAFT. THE NTSB INVESTIGATOR IS JENNIFER RODI SHE IS HAVING THE ROTOR BLADE AND PARTS OF THE TAIL BOOM EXAMINED AT THE NTSB LAB.

## 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 CEN11GA218](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11GA218), Mar 8, 2011: Hughes 369D (N131AL), Meeker, CO, substantial damage. Probable cause: Main rotor contact with the tail boom resulting in tail boom separation.

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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