- Date
- April 11, 1987, 07:35 local (14:35 UTC)
- Place
- Palm Desert, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5200WHughes 369E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 7, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870411009089A
- Case key
- 25397
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 dscndd uncontrolled & crashed in a residential area. After the acdnt, the plt said he agreed to orbit the residence of his pax. At the aprx 135 deg point of a left orbit, he felt 'a bang & severe vibration in the tail.' The plt lost drctnl ctl & the helicopter began spinning to the right. An exam of the tail rotor gear box (t/r gb) assy revealed 3 of 4 t/r gb mounting studs had failed from cyclic fatigue due to bending which had resulted from a loss of clamp-up torque. Subsequently, the lower right ear of the t/r gb (at the lctn of the 4th stud) failed from overload & the t/r gb sepd. Further investigation revealed that 3 washers had been installed on each of the mounting studs, but only one was permitted. The washers were installed during compliance with AD 86-20-07, 78 flt hrs before the acdnt.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5200W
- Reported as
- Hughes 369E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0025E
- Airframe hours
- 333
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 270 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kensrue Development Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 9, 1987 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- UDD · Bermuda Dunes, CA
- Destination
- 17L · Hemet, CA
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
- 65
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,000 total · 111 in this make and model · 5,075 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 18,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TRM, 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.