- Date
- May 31, 1986, 07:10 local (14:10 UTC)
- Place
- Wenatchee, WA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4964NBell UH-1L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860531019929A
- Case key
- 40284
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
N4964N, a bell UH-1L, was being operated in logging ops by an experienced, military trained plt who possessed 6000 hrs of flt experience in model. While lifting a sling load gnd crew rptd smoke from the tail rotor area. Plt released sling load & acknowledged the warning radioing his intentions to land nearby. The subsequent loss of tail rotor/directnl cntrl placed rotorcraft in a condition whereby an autorotation was not possbl & a run on lndg was necessary. Unsuitable terrain left the plt with only two forced lndg options, one on curving, hilly hwy with potential for a collision with auto traffic, or the other into heavily treed terrain. The plt appears to have chosen the latter. It is not apparent why he chose this option rather than diverting to a nearby airstrip or some other level forced lndg area. The 42 degree gearbox, which had been overhauled and installed 195 hrs previously in acft, was found to have failed when the input pinion gear fractured in fatigue originating from corrosion.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4964N
- Reported as
- Bell UH-1L
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 157854
- Airframe hours
- 7,899
- Engine
- Lycoming T53-L13B, 1,250 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 133
- Registered owner
- A.M. Mcdowell & Associates
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 18, 1986 · 41 hours before
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
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 11,250 total · 6,000 in this make and model · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EAT, 15 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.