- Date
- May 23, 1990, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- La Sal, UT
- Injuries
- 3 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N402AHAerospatiale SA315B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 23, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900523017119A
- Case key
- 17833
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
A failure of the engine speed governor unit due to improper storage and/or inspection of the speed governor unit prior to placing it in service. A factor in the accident was the pilot carrying passengers on the external load.
Analysis
The helicopter was conducting long line operations carrying a load of equipment plus two passengers on the load. The engine decelerated to idle necessitating a forced landing. The pilot allowed the helicopter to settle until the load hit the ground in an attempt to provide safety for his passengers. When the load hit the ground he jettisoned and then attempted to complete an autorotative landing. Low rotor RPM prevented a successful landing and the aircraft came to rest on its left side. Examination of the engine showed internal contamination of the fuel governor.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N402AH
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale SA315B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2484
- Airframe hours
- 6,647
- Engine
- Turbomeca ARTOUSE 316B, 858 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 133
- Operator
- Geo - Seis Helicopters, Inc
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 5, 1990 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- DRO · Durango, CO
- Destination
- NONE
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 1,670 in this make and model · 9,700 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 90 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.