- Date
- August 5, 2023, 12:33 local (16:33 UTC)
- Place
- Elberon, VA
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N353AHHughes 369
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: Low altitude operation/event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO, Rolls-Royce
- FAA report
- 20230805011339A
- Case key
- 192811
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’s failure to maintain clearance from a power line structure arm, which resulted in main rotor blade contact.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The purpose of the rotorcraft external load flight was to spray water from the helicopter and wash some outside insulators that were suspended from power line structure arms. During the wash, the crew heard a bang, and the helicopter descended into trees. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the wreckage after the accident and observed substantial damage to the fuselage and rotor blades. The inspector also observed damage to the power line structure arm that was consistent with main rotor blade contact. The inspector did not find evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the helicopter, nor did the operator report any. Based on this information, it is likely that the helicopter’s main rotor struck the power line structure while the pilot was maneuvering in close proximity to it.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N353AH
- Reported as
- Hughes 369 (D)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 811079D
- Built
- 1981
- Airframe hours
- 20,507
- Engine
- Rolls-Royce 250-C20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 133
- Operator
- Haverfield International Inc
- Registered owner
- Tvpx Aircraft Solutions Inc Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · April 18, 2023 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- AKQ · Wakefield, VA
- Airport
- NONE
- Equipment
- Satellite tracking device, Onboard weather, ADS-B
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 55
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 19, 2022
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 7,375 total · 3,924 in this make and model · 7,130 as pilot in command · 146 in the last 90 days · 74 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Other flight crew
- Injuries
- Serious
- Seat
- None
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- AKQ, 10 nm away
- METAR
- KAKQ 051654Z AUTO 10SM FEW025 29/22 A2998
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 5, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.