- Date
- May 6, 2000, 13:13 local (17:13 UTC)
- Place
- Metter, GA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N80584Hiller UH-12C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000506008839A
- Case key
- 49142
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 pilot's failure to maintain an adequate lookout resulting in a collision with a transmission wire that resulted in a forced landing and substantial damage to the helicopter.
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 stated that he was flying his helicopter and he struck a power line. He said that the wire strike destroyed the glass bubble and he thought that was the only damage, so he tried to return to the airport. As he approached the airport for landing, the pilot said he was unable to control the engine rpm, which had stuck on a high setting, and he could not perform a normal autorotation. He landed the helicopter with high vertical and forward speeds, and the helicopter received substantial damage.
Factual narrative
On May 6, 2000, about 1313 eastern daylight time, a Hiller UH-12C helicopter, N80584, registered to Ulfco Oil Inc., operated as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed while maneuvering near Metter, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The helicopter incurred substantial damage, and the commercial-rated pilot sustained minor injuries. The flight originated from Metter, the same day, about 1250.
The pilot stated that he was flying his helicopter near the Metter Airport, when he struck a power line. He stated that the wire strike destroyed the glass bubble and he thought that was the only damage, so he tried to return to the airport. As he approached the airport for landing, he was unable to control the engine rpm, which had stuck on a high setting, so he could not perform a normal autorotation. He landed the helicopter with high vertical and forward speeds, and the helicopter bounced, rolled over on the right side, and incurred substantial damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N80584
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-12C
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 868-2263
- Airframe hours
- 1,055
- Engine
- Franklin UH-12C, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ulfco Oil Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 17, 1999 · 44 hours before
- Departed
- MHP
- Airport
- MHP · Metter Municipal Airport
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
- 76
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 27,782 total · 44 in this make and model · 17 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VDI, 19 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.