- Date
- October 26, 1987, 16:00 local (Oct 27, 1987, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Borrego Springs, CA
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N47861Mcdonnell Douglas 369D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 16, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871026082849A
- Case key
- 25892
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 pilot and three passengers were flying at low altitude over mountainous terrain looking for big horn sheep. Thirty minutes into the flight the pilot heard a loud noise and the tail yawed left. The pilot turned away from the mountain to look for a place to land. The engine lost all power. Because it was necessary to stretch the glide to reach the only available landing space, there was insufficient rotor speed remaining to cushion the landing. The aircraft landed hard, breaking the right landing skid and rolling over onto its side. Exam of the eng revealed that the no. 6 & 7 bearings were found to have failed due to oil starvation. The reason for the oil starvation could not be determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N47861
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 310915D
- Airframe hours
- 2,165
- Engine
- Allison 250-L20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Skydance Helicopters Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 22, 1987 · 96 hours before
- Departed
- Desert Springs, 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
- 55
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 12,000 total · 4,000 in this make and model · 12,000 as pilot in command · 76 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RIV, 70 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.