# NTSB ERA13TA341: Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E, N1608D, Jackson, KY, July 29, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Final report - Date: July 29, 2013, 10:45 local (14:45 UTC) - Place: Jackson, KY - Coordinates: 37.551109, -83.088607 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.5511&lon=-83.0886&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 2 serious - Status: Completed, report January 30, 2014 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO, DEA - NTSB case key (mKey): 87609 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA13TA341 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/87609/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87609 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA13TA341 ## Probable cause The helicopter pilot's inadvertent collision with an unmarked and uncharted utility wire of which he was unaware. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Object/animal/substance: wire](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Not specified (probable cause); cases with it: [Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032/cases.md?model=3027369), [All aircraft, 588 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: identification/recognition](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510/cases.md?model=3027369), [All aircraft, 559 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance: wire](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Availability of related info (probable cause); cases with it: [Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032/cases.md?model=3027369), [All aircraft, 588 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120) (defining event); cases with it: [Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md?model=3027369), [All aircraft, 1,074 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=3027369), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=3027369), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis An unmarked and uncharted wire extended between two ridges, the last remaining wire of several that had provided utilities to a mine that was no longer in operation. The pilot did not see the wire and was flying the helicopter between the two ridges, about 500 feet above the valley floor, when the main rotor head contacted the utility wire. The pilot initiated an emergency descent but he had limited control of the helicopter, and it collided with the valley floor. A postcrash fire consumed the wreckage. Because the mine had been closed for a long time, no one had reported the utility wire to the Federal Aviation Administration for addition on the appropriate aeronautical chart. ## Factual narrative On July 29, 2013, about 1045 eastern daylight time, a McDonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E, N1608D, operated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration as a public use flight, was destroyed when it impacted terrain, following a collision with a utility wire in cruise flight near Jackson, Kentucky. The commercial pilot and passenger were seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local aerial observation flight that originated from London-Corbin Airport (LOZ), London, Kentucky, about 1015.The operator reported that four utility wires had run between two ridges to support a mine, which had long been closed. Over time, three of the four wires deteriorated and fell due to the natural elements. One wire remained, about 500 feet above the valley floor, and was the wire that the helicopter contacted. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the wire between the ridges was unmarked and uncharted. As the mine was closed, there was nobody to report the wire to the FAA for addition on the appropriate sectional chart. The helicopter had been flying between the ridges and contacted the wire. The helicopter subsequently descended into a valley and a postcrash fire consumed the wreckage. The inspector added that the helicopter was equipped with two wire cutters, one near the bottom of the fuselage and one near the top of the fuselage; however, the wire contact was with the rotorhead, which was located above the top wire cutter. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1608D](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1608D-2013-12-20), registration cancelled 2013-12-20, S/N 0434E, built 1990 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MCDONNELL DOUGLAS HELICOPTER 369E - Registry model: [Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E](https://openairdocs.org/model/mcdonnell-douglas-helicopter-369e) (registry code 3027369) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Allison 250-C20 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c20-series) (registry code 03020, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 0434E - Engines: Rolls-Royce 250-C20B 420 horsepower turbo shaft - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Public aircraft - federal, Public use - Operator: U.S. Drug Enforcement Adminstration - Registered owner: Free Lance Air Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: LOZ, London, KY - Destination: LOZ, London, KY ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 36; injuries: serious; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane, helicopter; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review February 12, 2013; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 2,500 total, 200 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 68 °F, dew point 55 °F - Altimeter: 30.20 inHg - Observed at: JKL, 10 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 20130729014979A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130729014979A), Jul 29, 2013: Mcdonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E, Jackson, KY, Destroyed. A MD-369 helicopter was operating in the vacinity of Jackson, KY when it struck a unmarked high tension wire strung between to ridges causing loss of control… ## Docket (5 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 25, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87609. 3.7 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 1.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40404521&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Interview Summaries (item 2, .PDF, 63 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40404525&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Interview%20Summaries-Master.PDF - Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation (item 3, .PDF, 797 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40404522&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20of%20Party%20Representatives%20to%20NTSB%20Investigation-Redacted.PDF - Photograph # 1: Front View of Main Wreckage (Photo Courtesy of FAA) (item 4, .PDF, 439 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40404523&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photograph%20%23%201%3A%20%20Front%20View%20of%20Main%20Wreckage%20(Photo%20Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF - Photograph # 2: Side View of Main Wreckage (Photo Courtesy of FAA) (item 5, .PDF, 468 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40404524&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photograph%20%23%202%3A%20%20Side%20View%20of%20Main%20Wreckage%20(Photo%20Courtesy%20of%20FAA)-Master.PDF 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.