- Date
- August 11, 2001, 11:50 local (19:50 UTC)
- Place
- Wrangell, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Other
- Aircraft
- N5193YSikorsky S61A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 15, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA, Juneau Flight Standards
- FAA report
- 20010811039289A
- Case key
- 54369
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The separation of a steel long line cable that failed and rebounded from a load of logs into the helicopter's main and tail rotors.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The operator of the helicopter logging operation reported that a steel long line cable failed while the flight crew was setting a load of logs down. The long line rebounded into the main and tail rotor blades, causing substantial damage to both sets of blades. The flight crew was able to make an immediate and successful emergency landing without further damaging the helicopter.
Factual narrative
On August 11, 2001, about 1150 Alaska daylight time, a Sikorsky S61A helicopter, N5193Y, operated by Silver Bay Logging, Incorporated, under 14 CFR Part 133, sustained substantial damage when a steel long-line broke while lifting logs. The two airline transport certificated pilots were not injured. The accident occurred on Etolin Island, about 12 miles southwest of Wrangell, Alaska.
During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on August 14, the director of maintenance for the operator related that an American-made steel cable, approximately 200 feet in length, broke about 60 feet above the load of logs the helicopter was lifting. The 5/8 inch cable contacted the helicopter's main and tail rotor blades. The helicopter was able to make an uneventful emergency landing after the crew detached the remaining cable and felt excessive vibration. Postaccident inspection disclosed substantial damage to the main and tail rotors. Two main rotor blades and the tail rotor blades were replaced.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5193Y
- Reported as
- Sikorsky S61A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 61184
- Airframe hours
- 14,310
- Engine
- General Electric CT58-140-1, 1,250 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 133
- Registered owner
- Silver Bay Logging Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · August 10, 2001 · 9 hours before
- Departed
- Wrangell, AK
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- July 10, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 11,830 total · 6,094 in this make and model · 11,000 as pilot in command · 274 in the last 90 days · 87 in the last 30 days · 11 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- July 12, 2001
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 5,600 total · 1,000 in this make and model · 5,000 as pilot in command · 350 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 11 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.