# NTSB ATL04TA116: Hughes 269A, N115ES, Louisburg, NC, May 14, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Final report - Date: May 14, 2004, 15:10 local (19:10 UTC) - Place: Louisburg, NC - Coordinates: 36.023334, -78.330001 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.0233&lon=-78.3300&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal, 1 minor - Status: Completed, report September 13, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Greensboro FSDO - ADs cited in the narratives: AD 80-05-05 (OpenAirDocs) - NTSB case key (mKey): 59243 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL04TA116 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59243/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04TA116 ## Probable cause Fatigue failure of the tailboom saddle fitting which resulted in a loss of aircraft control. Also causal was inadequate maintenance due to non-compliance to an airworthiness directive requiring inspection of the saddle fitting. A contributing factor was the pilot's lack of proper certification. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction, cruise - maintenance,compliance with ad - not performed, other maintenance personnel (cause) - rotor drive system,tail rotor drive shaft bearing - fatigue (cause) - Loss of control - in flight, cruise - directional control - not possible - lack of certification, pilot in command - Forced landing, descent - emergency - autorotation - attempted, pilot in command - In flight collision with object, emergency descent/landing - object - tree(s) ## Analysis According to the pilot, the purpose of the flight was an ongoing program directed at drug eradication. He stated that shortly after takeoff, he felt two vibrations and then heard a loud bang from the back of the helicopter. He stated the helicopter yawed to the right, and he entered an autorotation and maneuvered toward a small clearing in the wooded area he was over at the time. The main rotor blades struck a pine tree approximately 30 feet tall on the edge of the clearing and impacted the ground on the helicopters left side. A review of information on file with the Federal Aviation Administration Airman's Certification Division, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, revealed that the pilot did not have an airman's certificate indicating he was rated in helicopters nor could he provide evidence that he was trained in helicopters. A review of records on file with the FAA Aero Medical Records Division revealed the pilot was issued a third class medical certificate on September 26, 1988. The pilot reported on his application for the medical certificate that he had accumulated 39 total flight hours. A review of maintenance records revealed that the last recorded annual inspection was completed on March 21, 2004, at an airframe total time of 5,506.2 hours. On March 13, 1980, the FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) 80-05-05 addressing Schweizer Helicopters Model 269 series equipped with a tail boom center support (saddle) fitting certificated in all categories. The AD was issued to prevent fatigue failure of the tail boom center support fitting and the resultant loss of the tailboom. A review of the maintenance records dating back to March 13, 1980, found no logbook entries that indicated the required inspections outlined in the AD had been accomplished. Examination of the tail rotor assembly found the tailboom saddle attachment broken. Further examination found rubbing on the tailrotor drive shaft near the broken tailboom saddle attachment. Examination found that the tailboom support fitting fractured as a result of fatigue initiating at the base of a large corrosion pit on the tip surface of the forward wall. This surface, which was in direct contact with the tailboom, was only partially covered by paint, and contained extensive pitting damage. Following the fracture of the saddle support fitting the tailboom dropped and rubbed against the tail drive shaft fracturing it in overstress. ## Factual narrative HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 14, 2004 at 1510 eastern daylight time, a Hughes 269A Helicopter, N115ES, registered to a private owner and operated by Franklin County Sheriff's Office collided with trees shortly after takeoff in Louisburg, North Carolina. The public use flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The non-certificated pilot received minor injuries, the passenger received fatal injuries, and the helicopter sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from a field near the Sheriff's Department in Louisburg, North Carolina on May 14, 2004 at 1214. According to the pilot, the purpose of the flight was an ongoing program directed at drug eradication. He stated that shortly after takeoff, he felt two vibrations and then heard a loud bang from the back of the helicopter. He stated the helicopter yawed to the right, and he entered an autorotation and maneuvered toward a small clearing in the wooded area he was over at the time. The main rotor blades struck a pine tree approximately 30 feet tall on the edge of the clearing and collided with the ground on the helicopters left side fatally injuring the Sheriff's Deputy. PERSONNEL INFORMATION A review of information on file with the Federal Aviation Administration Airman's Certification Division, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, revealed that the pilot did not have an airman's certificate indicating he was rated in helicopters nor could he provide evidence that he was trained in helicopters. A review of records on file with the FAA Aero Medical Records Division revealed the pilot was issued a third class medical certificate on September 26, 1988. The pilot reported on his application for the medical certificate that he had accumulated 39 total flight hours. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The helicopter was under a lease/purchase agreement with North East Tennessee Search & Tactical Air Response, Inc., (NETSTAR) of Elizabethton, Tennessee, and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office of Louisburg, North Carolina. The agreement was entered into on February 20, 2004. A review of maintenance records revealed that the last recorded annual inspection was completed on March 21, 2004, at an airframe total time of 5,506.2 hours. On March 13, 1980, the FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) 80-05-05 addressing Schweizer Helicopters Model 269 series equipped with a tail boom center support (saddle) fitting certificated in all categories. The AD was issued to prevent fatigue failure of the tail boom center support fitting and the resultant loss of the tailboom. A review of the maintenance records dating back to March 13, 1980, found no logbook entries that indicated the required inspections outlined in the AD had been accomplished. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The wreckage was located in a small clearing located within a heavily wooded area. The wreckage was found on its left side with the cockpit area crushed inward with the wind screen shattered. Examination of the tail rotor assembly found the tailboom saddle attachment broken. Further examination found rubbing on the tailrotor drive shaft near the broken tailboom saddle attachment. Examination of the tailboom found a slice through the skin and drive shaft just forward of the helicopter's registration markings. A section of the tailboom, forward tailboom attachment, forward tail drive shaft, right tailboom support rod, left tailboom support rod, and the tailboom support saddle fitting was sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory, in Washington, DC., for further examination. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION On October 1, 2004, the NTSB Materials Laboratory examined a section of the tailboom, forward tailboom attachment, forward tail drive shaft, right tailboom support rod (intact), left tailboom support rod, and the tailboom support saddle fitting (fractured). Examination found that the tailboom support fitting fractured as a result of fatigue initiating at the base of a large corrosion pit on the tip surface of the forward wall. This surface, which was in direct contact with the tailboom, was only partially covered by paint, and contained extensive pitting damage. Following the fracture of the saddle support fitting the tailboom dropped and rubbed against the tail drive shaft fracturing it in overstress. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N115ES](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N115ES-2013-07-01), registration cancelled 2013-07-01, S/N 26-0470, built 1964 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Hughes 269A - Registry model: [Hughes 269A-1](https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-269a-1) (registry code 4470404) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming I0360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (registry code 41515, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 26-0470 - Airframe hours: 736 - Engines: Lycoming IO-360 B1A 200 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Public aircraft, Public use - Operator: Franklin County Sheriff's Office - Registered owner: Benjamin Thomas Barrick - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, January 1, 1976 - Departed: Louisburg, NC ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 33; injuries: minor; seat: right; flight hours: 39 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 210° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 59 °F - Altimeter: 30.25 inHg - Observed at: KLHZ, 20 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040514007609A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040514007609A), May 14, 2004: Hughes 269A1, Louisburg, NC, Destroyed, 1 fatal. (-23) Aircraft was being operated by the franklin county sheriff's department taking part in a drug eradication program. Flight was one-hour into a two-hour… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.