- Date
- July 18, 1984, 11:57 local (18:57 UTC)
- Place
- Mesa, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N58369Hughes 369D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840718075629A
- Case key
- 23979
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 experienced a main rotor drive system disconnect, an uncontrolled descent & subsequent inflight collision with terrain in a hilly desert area. This was the third & last in a planned series of marketing demo flts conducted for three USMC officers. During the post crash examination of over-running clutch components revealed that the cages & sprags were bound up in their normal engaged positions. Two of the three drag strips were observed to have abrasion signatures across their entire width of .07 inches; the abrasion areas generally matched the geometry of the adjacent ball bearing race. Examination of engineering drawings for the clutch revealed that for the drag strip to contact the adjacent bearing race, the clutch would have to protrude out of its normal relative position by about .20 inches. Heavy oxidation obscured the potential relative running position markings between the inner & outer races.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N58369
- Reported as
- Hughes 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1200848D
- Airframe hours
- 469
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Hughes Helicopters, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 25, 1984 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- FFZ · Mesa, AZ
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 37
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 4,004 total · 109 in this make and model · 3,802 as pilot in command · 72 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 99 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FFZ, 5 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.