- Date
- March 16, 1993, 15:10 local (23:10 UTC)
- Place
- Applegate, OR
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N5344VHiller UH-12E
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930316005529A
- Case key
- 18247
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 initiating flight into known adverse weather. Factors were: low ceiling, fog, and turbulence.
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 landed on a mountainside helipad where two passengers were waiting. The pilot of a Sikorsky s 61 helicopter flying nearby cautioned him about clouds moving up the valley. He also noted it was quite windy and turbulent. The pilot replied he was aware of the approaching clouds and that it was bad. Shortly thereafter, the Sikorsky pilot heard the hiller pilot say, I lost it. The main rotor blades and one paddle were found in close proximity to the helicopter; the other paddle was located 300 feet away. Examination of the main rotor head disclosed damage between the hub static stops and the main rotor mast. Metallurgical examination of the fractured surfaces indicated all the breaks were the result of overload forces.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5344V
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-12E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2018
- Airframe hours
- 10,750
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 400 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Croman Corporation
- Registered owner
- Croman Corporation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 8, 1993 · 25 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
- 47
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 4,304 total · 4,173 as pilot in command · 114 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
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 N5344V · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.