- Date
- May 21, 1990, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Kelso, WA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 uninjured; on the ground: 1 fatal
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N8306FHughes 369D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900521016979A
- Case key
- 41195
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Failure of the pilot to keep the external load clear of obstacles (trees). Factors related to the accident were: failure of the pilot and ground crewman to follow safety procedures, and the proximity of the trees.
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 pilot took off with an external longline load (bundle of cedar blocks). The bundle struck tree branches in the thick forest canopy over the pickup site & came apart. A falling block of wood from the bundle struck & fatally injured the ground hook-up crewman. The company operating manual required that ground personnel be clear of the area during the lift-off & that the pilot make a vertical takeoff to an altitude that would clear the load of obstructions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8306F
- Reported as
- Hughes 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 380274D
- Airframe hours
- 2,846
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 133
- Registered owner
- Olympic Air, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 15, 1990 · 33 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
- 31
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,615 total · 202 in the last 90 days · 74 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PDX, 36 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.
Other investigations on N8306F · 4
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.