- Date
- August 14, 1989, 12:40 local (17:40 UTC)
- Place
- Quitman, MS
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9085TContinental Copters Tomcat MK6C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 29, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890814029299A
- Case key
- 32479
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
Failure of the tail boom attachment.
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
While maneuvering to begin spraying operations, the helicopter rolled to the rgt, descended nose low & collided with terrain. An exam of the helicopter revealed evidence that the lower tail boom attachment bolt was elongated and that the attaching bolt had failed. This allowed the tail boom to bend upward until the main rotor blades contacted the tail rotor. Operator psnl believed the elongated hole was due to movement of the tail boom, while being trailered to different spraying locations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9085T
- Reported as
- Continental Copters Tomcat MK6C (TOMCAT MK6)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- CCI-77-3
- Airframe hours
- 3,109
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-A1F, 265 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Ward Helicopters, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Ward Helicopters Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 5, 1989 · 30 hours before
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
- 44
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 11,800 total · 1,260 in this make and model · 11,500 as pilot in command · 520 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MEI, 18 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.