- Date
- November 28, 1989, 14:45 local (21:45 UTC)
- Place
- Park City, UT
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 4 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N62268Aerospatiale SA316B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 10, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891128047319A
- Case key
- 17811
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
Failure of the pilot to make a vertical takeoff, while departing with a cable attached, and his failure to insure the cable remained clear of the trailer. The trailer (vehicle) was a contributing factor.
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 helicopter was being used on an external load operation to move equipment from the side of a mountain. A 100 ft cable was still attached to the helicopter when workers needed to be transported up the hill. Witnesses reported the pilot initiated a normal takeoff, instead of a vertical takeoff, which he had been using with the cable attached. During the takeoff, the hook on the end of the cable snagged on an equipment trailer. The hook broke free of the trailer and the cable rebounded into the main rotor blades. The helicopter then became uncontrollable and crashed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N62268
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale SA316B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2046
- Airframe hours
- 8,692
- Engine
- Turbomeca ARTOUSTE IIIB, 543 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 133
- Registered owner
- Rocky Mountain Helicopters,Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- AAIP · October 7, 1989 · 29 hours before
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
- 49
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 17,000 total · 1,625 in this make and model · 16,000 as pilot in command · 73 in the last 90 days · 47 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 25 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N62268 · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.