- Date
- November 26, 1987, 08:10 local (18:10 UTC)
- Place
- Lihue, Kauai, HI
- Injuries
- 3 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N77DJHughes 369HS
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 15, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871126067269A
- Case key
- 25916
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Pilot failure to maintain adequate main rotor RPM.
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, who was also a certificated airframe & powerplant mech, recently changed the tailboom assy. At the time of the accident he was conducting a maintenance test flight. The pilot executed one autorotation with a power recovery. The plt reentered the traffic pattern. Gnd witnesses reptd that when the helicopter entered the base leg they heard an explosive sound followed by the tailboom assy separating from the helicopter. The wreckage exam dsclsd the main rotor blade struck the tailboom. The tail rotor blades went out of track and struck the vertical fins, separating the upper vertical fin. No evidence of any preexisting malfunctions was found. The main rotor blades exhibited low rotor RPM damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N77DJ
- Reported as
- Hughes 369HS
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1240683S
- Airframe hours
- 3,932
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 375 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Kauai Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Leaveil De Gree
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 19, 1987 · 14 hours before
- Airport
- LIH · Lihue, runway 3, 6,000 × 100 ft, macadam
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
- 42
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total · 1,215 in this make and model · 5,000 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 18 knots
- Visibility
- 14 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LIH
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.