- Date
- February 5, 1985, 15:50 local (Feb 6, 1985, 01:50 UTC)
- Place
- Hilo, HI
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N369LAHughes 369D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850205063719A
- Case key
- 24469
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
A search was initiated when the helicopter did not arrive. It was fnd 2 days later where it crashed drg an autorotation in a rain forest. Drg the flare/touchdown, vegetation had caught on a tundra pad on the l skid & the acft rolled over. An exam revealed the lwr bendix coupling on the eng-to-transmission drive shaft, pn 369A4410, & the upper r eng mount, pn 369H8017, had failed. Unapproved mod/repairs had been made to both the drive shaft & overlying cover panel. A steel reinforcing rod had been installed inside the cover panel. Due to pressure of cargo (large wtr bucket), the steel rod had been forced onto the drive shaft. There was evidence of angular misalignment & later failure of the drive shaft. A metallurgical exam of the eng mount revealed low cyclic fatigue in the threaded rod area of the adjusting screw. The fracture area of the drive shaft was too badly damaged to determine the mode of failure. Acft prev operd in Canada, reg c-gvtj. Annual inspn & U.S. Airworthiness certificate issued despite unapproved mod. Date of mod unknown.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N369LA
- Reported as
- Hughes 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1260036D
- Airframe hours
- 2,165
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 375 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kenai Helicopters
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 9, 1984 · 101 hours before
- Departed
- OGG · Kahului, HI
- Destination
- Volcano Natl Pk, HI
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
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 7,500 total · 500 in this make and model · 7,300 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 24,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ITO, 15 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.