- Date
- July 4, 1982, 22:35 local (Jul 5, 1982, 03:35 UTC)
- Place
- Crafton, PA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8259Aerospatiale SA 316B
- Weather
- Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 4, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820704027349A
- Case key
- 70367
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
Shortly after takeoff the pilot heard a loud grinding noise and felt a vibration emanating from the rear of the aircraft. Immediately, the nose yawed to the left and the engine failed. The pilot entered autoration and made a hard landing. Examination of the engine revealed that the aft bearing support had two bolts missing and the third bolt was sheared but still in the mount hole. This allowed the aft turbine section to come in contact with the turbine housing. Examination of the first stage axial compressor revealed blade number 4 to have a piece missing from the root section. Foreign object damage was evident on other blades examined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8259
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale SA 316B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1771
- Airframe hours
- 4,551
- Engine
- Turbomeca, 858 lbs thrust, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- Both
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Rocky Mt Helicopter Inc
- Registered owner
- Rocky Mt Helicopter Inc
- Departed
- Crafton, PA
- Destination
- Crafton, PA
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
- 35
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 6,396 total · 735 in this make and model · 5,984 as pilot in command · 92 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
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 N8259 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.