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20180310001839I

Incident · Minor damage
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FAA incident report · Hughes MH-6C · Cropwell, AL · March 10, 2018

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

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Date
March 10, 2018 · 09:30 local
Place
Cropwell, AL
Airport
N/A
Phase of flight
Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N262SD
Reported as
Hughes MH-6C
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificates
Commercial pilot, flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours
2,087 total79 in this make and model24 in the last 90 days
N262SDRegistered now · Hughes 369AS/N 691218Airframe modelHughes 369A

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 police helicopter was operating under public use under ac no: 00-1.1A. The aircraft was dispatched for sar purposes.

The helicopter was launched at approximately 0900CST. Power lines were noted by the crew and well-avoided in this area. The crew then searched down river from the primary search area due to the fast flowing waters the day of the incident. The helicopter was doing a high reconnaissance in a slow cruise configuration and had already identified and flew over the existing power lines that were noted. Approximately 30 seconds prior to the incident, the PIC noted the radar altimeter displayed 214 feet AGL and the airspeed at approximately 44 KTS. While continuing the search, the helicopter encountered an unseen additional wire immediately in front of the helicopter. Pilot reacted with aft cyclic in a backing-right bank. The wire struck the center-left canopy of the aircraft during the maneuver. There were no injuries to the crew.

The tactical flight officer (tfo) stated that the wire was not seen by him until the last moment and that the wire "reflexed the canopy bubble and damaged it." A phone call was made to the Alabama power company and they could not locate any downed lines and had no reported power outages.

A safety/operations brief was conducted prior to the launch of this mission, which was inclusive of wire awareness and avoidance. Previous wires were noted and avoided prior to this contact. The crew believes the water and lighting camouflaged the wire.

As the FAA filed it

THE POLICE HELICOPTER WAS OPERATING UNDER PUBLIC USE UNDER AC NO: 00-1.1A. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DISPATCHED FOR SAR PURPOSES.

THE HELICOPTER WAS LAUNCHED AT APPROXIMATELY 0900CST. POWER LINES WERE NOTED BY THE CREW AND WELL-AVOIDED IN THIS AREA. THE CREW THEN SEARCHED DOWN RIVER FROM THE PRIMARY SEARCH AREA DUE TO THE FAST FLOWING WATERS THE DAY OF THE INCIDENT. THE HELICOPTER WAS DOING A HIGH RECONNAISSANCE IN A SLOW CRUISE CONFIGURATION AND HAD ALREADY IDENTIFIED AND FLEW OVER THE EXISTING POWER LINES THAT WERE NOTED. APPROXIMATELY 30 SECONDS PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT, THE PIC NOTED THE RADAR ALTIMETER DISPLAYED 214 FEET AGL AND THE AIRSPEED AT APPROXIMATELY 44 KTS. WHILE CONTINUING THE SEARCH, THE HELICOPTER ENCOUNTERED AN UNSEEN ADDITIONAL WIRE IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF THE HELICOPTER. PILOT REACTED WITH AFT CYCLIC IN A BACKING-RIGHT BANK. THE WIRE STRUCK THE CENTER-LEFT CANOPY OF THE AIRCRAFT DURING THE MANEUVER. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO THE CREW.

THE TACTICAL FLIGHT OFFICER (TFO) STATED THAT THE WIRE WAS NOT SEEN BY HIM UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT AND THAT THE WIRE "REFLEXED THE CANOPY BUBBLE AND DAMAGED IT." A PHONE CALL WAS MADE TO THE ALABAMA POWER COMPANY AND THEY COULD NOT LOCATE ANY DOWNED LINES AND HAD NO REPORTED POWER OUTAGES.

A SAFETY/OPERATIONS BRIEF WAS CONDUCTED PRIOR TO THE LAUNCH OF THIS MISSION, WHICH WAS INCLUSIVE OF WIRE AWARENESS AND AVOIDANCE. PREVIOUS WIRES WERE NOTED AND AVOIDED PRIOR TO THIS CONTACT. THE CREW BELIEVES THE WATER AND LIGHTING CAMOUFLAGED THE WIRE.