- Date
- April 1, 1990
- Place
- Saipan (Pacific Ocean)
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N350APAerospatiale AS350B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900401065499A
- Case key
- 26766
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
The partial failure of a rotor system component for undetermined reasons.
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 pax were cruising over the philippine sea when the pilot felt an extreme vibration. The pilot made an emergency landing in the 7-FT sea. The pilot reported that prior to the helicopter overturning he observed that 'one of the elastomeric spherical thrust bearings was completely gone.' The helicopter subsequently overturned, sank and has not been recovered. The acft's rotor system had previously been involved in a sudden stoppage mishap and had thereafter been repaired and returned to service by other than the current company maintenance personnel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N350AP
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale AS350B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1252
- Airframe hours
- 1,955
- Engine
- Turbomeca ARRIEL, 641 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Micronesian Aviation Corp., doing business as Macaw Helicopters
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 31, 1990 · 4 hours before
- Departed
- Koblerville, OF
- Destination
- Anatahan Island, OF
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 28
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 6,975 total · 675 in this make and model · 6,775 as pilot in command · 147 in the last 90 days · 89 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 10 knots, gusting 12
- Visibility
- 35 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N350AP · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.