# NTSB NYC02TA104: Hughes OH-6A, N42SD, Angola, NY, May 29, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Final report - Date: May 29, 2002, 10:00 local (14:00 UTC) - Place: Angola, NY - Coordinates: 42.666389, -78.996391 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.6664&lon=-78.9964&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor - Status: Completed, report June 25, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Erie County Sheriff's Department, Boeing, MD Helicopters, FAA, Rolls-Royce - NTSB case key (mKey): 54802 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=NYC02TA104 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54802/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54802 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC02TA104 ## Probable cause The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(partial) - nonmechanical, approach - vfr pattern - final approach - reason for occurrence undetermined (cause) - Forced landing, descent - emergency - Hard landing, emergency descent/landing ## Analysis While conducting a normal landing, approximately 75-100 feet above the ground, the certified flight instructor (CFI) observed the student pilot begin to bleed off airspeed by pulling aft on the cyclic. The helicopter then abruptly made an uncommanded yaw to the left, and began to roll. After the CFI observed the rotor tachometer " bleeding off," and did not see the engine needle on the left hand side of it's gauge, he assumed control of the helicopter. He proceeded to lower the collective just enough to try and maintain glide, while applying forward and right cyclic to counter the left roll. About 30 feet above the ground, he applied aft cyclic to flare, and then forward cyclic to level the skids. The helicopter touched down on the skids, level with the ground, on the side of the grass strip. The helicopter skidded forward about 50 feet, into a culvert ditch, where it came to rest. Examination of the engine and airframe did not reveal any pre-impact failures. ## Factual narrative On May 29, 2002, about 1000 eastern daylight time, a Hughes OH-6A helicopter, N42SD, operated by the Erie County Sheriff's Department, was substantially damaged while landing at a private airstrip near Angola, New York. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and student pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the public use instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the CFI, the helicopter departed the Sheriff's Heliport in Hamburg, New York, about 0930, with the student pilot at the controls. The flight proceeded west to a pre-determined training grass strip about 2 miles from the Angola Airport. The CFI instructed the student to perform a high "recon," followed by a low "recon" while in a left hand pattern, in order to inspect the intended practice field. The helicopter was about 1,500 feet above the grass strip, when the CFI requested that the student conduct a normal approach to the runway midfield, and terminate to a hover. The CFI recalled that the gauges were in the normal green range as the student setup for the approach. The approach was into the wind, at an airspeed of 65-70 knots. At the decision height, approximately 75-100 feet above the ground, the CFI observed the student begin to bleed off airspeed by pulling aft on the cyclic. The helicopter then abruptly made an uncommanded yaw to the left, and began to roll. After the CFI observed the rotor tachometer " bleeding off," and did not see the engine needle on the left hand side of it's gauge, he assumed control of the helicopter. The CFI proceeded to lower the collective, and attempted to maintain a glide, while applying forward and right cyclic to counter the left roll. About 30 feet above the ground, he applied aft cyclic to flare, and then forward cyclic to level the skids. The helicopter touched down on the skids, level with the ground, on the side of the grass strip. The helicopter skidded forward about 50 feet, into a culvert ditch, where it came to rest. Inspection of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the tail boom separated from the fuselage, and substantial damage was sustained to the rotor blades. On June 5 and 6, 2002, the engine and airframe were examined at the Erie County Sheriff's Department maintenance facility, located in Hamburg, New York. The examination did not reveal any pre-impact failures. On July 1, 2002, the engine was examined and tested under the supervision of a FAA Inspector, at the Rolls-Royce Allison Engine Company, Indianapolis, Indiana. The tests on the engine were in accordance with the model 250-T63-A700 production test specifications. With the engine in the standard test configuration, all response times were within limits, and the engine met all performance parameters. The recorded weather at a nearby airport, about the time of the accident, included winds from 200 degrees at 7 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: N42SD (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Hughes OH-6A - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 501412 - Airframe hours: 3521 - Engines: Allison T63A700 252 horsepower turbo shaft - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Erie County Sherrif's Office - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, September 24, 2001, 91 hours before - Departed: 4G2, Hamburg, NY - Destination: NONE, Angola, NY - Airport: NONE ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 39; injuries: minor; flight instructor, commercial; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review June 15, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 2,038 total, 539 in this make and model, 1,964 as pilot in command, 9 in the last 90 days, 1 in the last 30 days - Student pilot; age 44; injuries: minor; student; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: right; flight hours: 11 total, 11 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days, 1 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 200° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 63 °F - Altimeter: 30.03 inHg - Observed at: BUF, 21 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20020529018299A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020529018299A), May 29, 2002: Hughes OH6A, Evans, NY, Substantial damage. (-23) On Wednesday, may 29, 2002, instructor pilot martin bronisz and student arthur litzinger were conducting training in a OH-6A helicopter at milligans… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 15, 2003, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54802. 986 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 814 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439797&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Reports from Parties to the Investigation (item 2, .PDF, 108 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40181359&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Reports%20from%20Parties%20to%20the%20Investigation-Master.PDF - Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation (item 3, .PDF, 64 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439798&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20of%20Party%20Representatives%20to%20NTSB%20Investigation-Redacted.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.