- Date
- March 24, 1993, 06:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- Pacific Ocean (Pacific Ocean)
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8493EBell 47G2A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 18, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930324010389A
- Case key
- 27953
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 passenger's failure to adhere to the pilot's instructions. Factors which contributed to the accident were: the language/communications difficulty between the pilot & the passenger, and the bird strike.
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 was on a fish spotting mission with the ship's master of mv Ocean kim on board. During cruise the pilot heard a loud bang and felt a vibration in the rudder pedals; then all yaw control was lost. The pilot thought the tail rotor struck a large sea bird as many birds were in the area. He was able to maintain directional control at 60 KTS with throttle & collective. He discussed the situation with the captain, briefly discussing the idea of the captain jumping from the helicopter if it could be slowed at a low enough altitude, but only if ok'd by the pilot. The ship lowered small boats, and maneuvered to create a smooth water surface while the pilot orbited and slowed the helicopter to get a feel for how slow he could go and still maintain directional control. The pilot estimated that he was about 75 ft asl at 45 KTS when the captain dove out head first. The pilot subsequently made a running landing on the water, and was hoisted up onto the deck of the ship. The captain sustained fatal injuries. The t/r blades exhibited impact damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8493E
- Reported as
- Bell 47G2A
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2715
- Airframe hours
- 5,861
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-A1F, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Hansen Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Hansen Helicopters
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 2, 2000 · 26 hours before
- Departed
- NONE
- Destination
- NONE
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,100 total · 900 in this make and model · 4,100 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.