20131209023649A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Hiller UH-12E · Madera, CA · December 9, 2013

Date: December 9, 2013 · 06:30 local
Place: Madera, CA
Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N36MV
NTSB investigation: NTSBWPR14LA062
Reported as: Hiller UH-12E
Reported engine: Lycoming VO-540 series
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours: 32,000 total5,000 in this make and model

N36MVRegistration cancelled Mar 1, 2018 · Hiller UH-12ES/N 5060 · Built 1978 Airframe modelHiller UH-12E Engine modelLycoming VO-540 seriesReciprocating

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.

The aircraft was performing agricultural flight operations, frost control, when the torsional coupling failed. Being at low altitude, the RPM went quickly resulting in a hard landing. The main rotor made contact with the tail boom, the skids were damaged, the skid cross bar was bent, and hitting a tree caused further damage.

As the FAA filed it

THE AIRCRAFT WAS PERFORMING AGRICULTURAL FLIGHT OPERATIONS, FROST CONTROL, WHEN THE TORSIONAL COUPLING FAILED. BEING AT LOW ALTITUDE, THE RPM WENT QUICKLY RESULTING IN A HARD LANDING. THE MAIN ROTOR MADE CONTACT WITH THE TAIL BOOM, THE SKIDS WERE DAMAGED, THE SKID CROSS BAR WAS BENT, AND HITTING A TREE CAUSED FURTHER DAMAGE.

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 WPR14LA062Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal reportChowchilla, CAThe failure of the torsional drive coupling, which resulted in a loss of drive to the main rotor system during low-altitude flight.Dec 9, 2013 · Substantial damage

Other reports on N36MV · 1

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

Accident 20100202026659ALanding: Touchdown · Los Banos, CAWhen returning to the load truck after completion of an aerial application the pilot noticed that his throttle did not respond. The pilot was at an altitude of 50 ft when he noticed the loss of throttle control. The aircraft engine was slowly loosing engine…Feb 2, 2010 · Substantial damage