- Date
- February 8, 1987, 15:30 local (Feb 9, 1987, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Honolulu, HI
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 2 serious, 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N1102UHughes 369D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 20, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19870208050329A
- Case key
- 25378
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
Drg tkof clb, a loud noise occurred as 1 of 5 main rotors (mrb's) & the tail boom sepd fm the helicopter (hel). The hel then crashed & hit a submerged reef aprx 200' fm the heliport. An exam of the failed mrb showed its retention strap assy(rsa), pn 369D21210-501, failed fm fatigue in an area of corrosion; 11 of the mrb's 16 strap laminates had preexisting cracks. Corrosion was fnd on 78 of 80 laminates. The maint hndbk reqd the rsa's be inspected at 25, 100 & 600 hr inter- vals. Svc info notice (sin) DN-77.1 rdmdd a 300 hr inspn if any crack or laminate failure was fnd drg a 100 hr inspn. Ad's 77-15-09R1 & 81-10-08 reqd inspn w/i (but not outbrd of) the pitch housing. Drg 100 hr/ad inspns after 1768 & 1839 hrs of opn, up to 3 cracks were fnd in laminate legs, but their lctns were not documented for ltr inspn. However, drg 2 subsequent 100 hr inspns by another mech, no cracked laminates were noted. The hel had 2135 hrs of opn when the acdnt occurred. Svc info ltr DL-54 rcmdd a tri-flow wash proc after the last flt of each day when opng in a marine environment
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1102U
- Reported as
- Hughes 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 100820D
- Airframe hours
- 2,135
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 375 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Royal Helicopter Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 13, 1987 · 94 hours before
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- Z06 · Ala Wai Heliport
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
- 44
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 8,518 total · 4,078 in this make and model · 7,950 as pilot in command · 134 in the last 90 days · 36 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HNL, 6 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.