- Date
- July 1, 1986, 19:00 local (Jul 2, 1986, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Lakehurst, NJ
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 3 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N1897ZPiasecki Acft. Helistat 97-34J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860701059499A
- Case key
- 30217
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
The helistat, a hybrid a/c with 4 H-34 main fuselages attached to a frame along with a ZPG-2 helium filled envelope had just completed it first hover test flt successfully and landed. A pwr loss was noted on the no. 3 helicopter and the test was terminated and the mooring mast called for. Prior to re-mooring a wind shift caused an uncommanded left turn which the pilot could not control with the flt controls. With a tailwind, no wheel brakes or gnd steering a takeoff was attempted. The 4 main landing gear which had no shimmy dampners started to shimmy. The four helicopters started to react to the shimmy with ground resonance. As the helistat finally lifted off, the four individual helicopters broke off and fell to the ground. One pilot received fatal injuries, 3 received serious injuries and one minor injuries. The helistat was destroyed. The prw loss on the no. 3 helicopter was traced to a missing throttle linkage correlation pin. Why the pin was missing was not determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1897Z
- Reported as
- Piasecki Acft. Helistat 97-34J (HELISTAT 9)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 0001
- Airframe hours
- 5
- Engine
- Wright R-1820-84C, 1,525 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Piasecki Aircraft Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · July 1, 1986 · 2 hours before
- Airport
- KNEL · Lakehurst Naec
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
- 58
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 20,500 total · 1 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 6 knots, gusting 12
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KNEL, 1 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.