- Date
- April 28, 1984, 16:30 local (Apr 29, 1984, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Toutle, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N779FAHughes 369D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840428043789A
- Case key
- 39906
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
Plt was operating helicopter at 120 ft AGL with the aux fuel pump on when a ttl loss of pwr occurred. Autorotation was entered but a hard landing resulted in the main rotor blades cutting off the tail boom. Investigation revealed a fuel sample taken from the engine fuel pump filter chamber contained several different types of contamintation particles. Some of which were from a deteriorating fuel pump bushing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N779FA
- Reported as
- Hughes 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 543
- Engine
- Allison 250-C2OB, 375 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Michael L Obrien, doing business as Obrien Intl Ltd
- Registered owner
- Michael L. O'Brien
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 7, 1983 · 95 hours before
- Departed
- Camp Baker, WA
- Destination
- Spirit Lake, WA
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 31
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,912 total · 2,510 in this make and model · 4,727 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.