NYC83FA210

NTSB accident investigation · Aerospatiale SA-360C · New York, NY · August 14, 1983

Accident · Minor injuriesField investigationFinal report
Date
August 14, 1983, 18:42 local (22:42 UTC)
Place
New York, NY
Injuries
4 minor, 2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Approach
Aircraft
N8479UAerospatiale SA-360C
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19830814048189A
Case key
35072

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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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.

Loss of engine powerApproach - vfr pattern - final approach
Reason for occurrence undeterminedCause
Forced landingLanding - flare/touchdown
In flight collision with objectLanding - flare/touchdown

Analysis

While on final apch to a heliport, the helicopter was at aprx 70 KTS & 100 ft AGL when the plt applied power to begin decelerating. As collective pitch was applied, he heard a series of banging noises which he described as similar to compress stalls. Simultaneously, he noted a decay of the eng power. The plt changed his course to minimize the distance to the landing area & raised the nose to further decelerate for a vertical descent. However, during touchdown, the tailwheel strut fairing hit a barrier at the edge of the heliport, separating the vertical stabilizer & fenestron. The separated component traveled upward & struck the main rotor blades. Reportedly, the low RPM warning horn sounded just before the compressor stall. Corrective action for a low RPM warning horn in this situation should have been to reduce the power demand by lowering the collective and/or reducing right pedal application. An eng check revealed it was capable of exceeding the max required torque, but it had slight fouling of the fuel injector wheel & compressor air flow

Aircraft

Registration
N8479U
Reported as
Aerospatiale SA-360C
Category
Helicopter
Serial number
1023
Airframe hours
2,777
Engine
Turbomeca AST. XVIIIA, 871 horsepower, turbo shaft
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Part 135
Registered owner
Island Helicopters, Inc.
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
AAIP · July 21, 1983 · 43 hours before
Departed
LGA · Flushing, NY
Flight plan
Company VFR
Airport
6N5 · East 34th St. Heli., runway 1, 304 × 100 ft, asphalt

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
37
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Seat
Right
Flight hours
4,450 total · 315 in this make and model · 4,250 as pilot in command · 155 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
160° at 10 knots
Visibility
20 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
72 °F, dew point 55 °F
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
LGA, 4 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.