20210205001189A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Hughes OH-6A · Horseshoe Bend, ID · February 5, 2021

Date: February 5, 2021 · 12:09 local
Place: Horseshoe Bend, ID
Phase of flight: Hover/Holding
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: N6639R
NTSB investigation: NTSBWPR21LA107
Reported as: Hughes OH-6A
Reported engine: Allison 250-C20B
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 1
Pilot’s certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
Pilot’s flight hours: 17,000 total1,500 in this make and model40 in the last 90 days

N6639RRegistration cancelled Aug 7, 2021 · Hughes OH-6AS/N 66-07874 Airframe modelHughes OH-6A

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.

During a predator mitigation flight and while in a hover the pilot moved to line up a shot on a wolf and at very low airspeed and altitude the engine spooled back causing the pilot to dump the collective and attempt an autorotation which the aircraft had too much forward momentum in a step hilly region and the skids caught the terrain and rolled over hard in a ravine.

As the FAA filed it

DURING A PREDATOR MITIGATION FLIGHT AND WHILE IN A HOVER THE PILOT MOVED TO LINE UP A SHOT ON A WOLF AND AT VERY LOW AIRSPEED AND ALTITUDE THE ENGINE SPOOLED BACK CAUSING THE PILOT TO DUMP THE COLLECTIVE AND ATTEMPT AN AUTOROTATION WHICH THE AIRCRAFT HAD TOO MUCH FORWARD MOMENTUM IN A STEP HILLY REGION AND THE SKIDS CAUGHT THE TERRAIN AND ROLLED OVER HARD IN A RAVINE.

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 WPR21LA107Accident · Serious injuriesClass 3 · LimitedFinal reportHorseshoe Bend, IDA partial loss of engine power due to a leak in the fuel cell outlet valve.Feb 5, 2021 · Substantial damage

Other reports on N6639R · 1

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

Accident 20041015028309ALow Level Operations · Jacumba, CA(-23) On October 15, 2004, about 0115 PDT, a Hughes operated by us border patrol collided with the terrain while performing low altitude maneuvers. According to the pilot he was assisting border patrol ground units with a group of illegal aliens in…Oct 15, 2004 · Minor damage