- Date
- August 23, 1992, 16:00 local (Aug 24, 1992, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Nome, AK
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5006MHughes 269A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 9, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19920823032689A
- Case key
- 5790
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 pilot's failure to maintain an adequate altitude.
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 pilot stated that while at an approx 5-FT hover, the passenger inadvertently pushed the dual cyclic control stick forward, and before he could take corrective action the helicopter contacted the 15-20 deg slope. The pilot abruptly moved his cyclic control stick aft, the tail rotor hit the ground, and the main rotor blades struck and cut off the tailboom. The purpose of the flight was for the passenger to videotape wildlife through the left door, which had been removed for the flight. The passenger stated that it was possible but he did not think he had pushed the control stick. He thought the pilot had been looking at the wildlife and inadvertently hit the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5006M
- Reported as
- Hughes 269A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 65-18259
- Airframe hours
- 4,212
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-B1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Smith, Timothy E.
- Registered owner
- Smith, Timothy E.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 21, 1991 · 133 hours before
- Departed
- OME · Nome, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 3,611 total · 134 in this make and model · 3,400 as pilot in command · 300 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 55 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.