- Date
- May 13, 1987, 06:20 local (13:20 UTC)
- Place
- Siletz, OR
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N47256Aerospatiale SA315-D Lama
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report May 2, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870513016029A
- Case key
- 40623
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
During external load operations the chockers became loose due to improper loading. The external load longline cable became entangled with the tailrotor causing a failure of the tail rotor system. The helicopter assumed a nose down attitude and spun to the left, impacting terrain with the left skid, and then rolling over onto its right side. The tail rotor was located 100 yards from the impact area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N47256
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale SA315-D Lama (SA315-D LA)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2433
- Airframe hours
- 7,186
- Engine
- Artouste Iiib T-MECA, 562 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 133
- Operator
- Rocky Mountain Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Rocky Mountain Helicopters
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 9, 1987 · 94 hours before
- Departed
- Newport, OR
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 7,896 total · 1,666 in this make and model · 7,875 as pilot in command · 122 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N47256 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.