- Date
- January 15, 1993, 12:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Chinook, MT
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 2 uninjured; on the ground: 1 fatal
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N28908Hiller UH-12E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930115000559A
- Case key
- 42943
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
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
Inattentive FBO personnel.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he had landed the helicopter near the fuel pumps as earlier agreed upon by the FBO personnel. As the main and tail rotors were winding down, the pilot and passenger exited the helicopter and were removing baggage when an individual from the FBO exited a nearby hangar and was following a path way in the snow toward the administration building and the helicopter. The pilot called out to the individual to caution him of the tail rotor, however, the individual continued and was struck by the tail rotor.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N28908
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-12E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1332
- Airframe hours
- 8,953
- Engine
- Lycoming V0-540-C2A, 305 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Public aircraft · Public use
- Operator
- Dept Of Interior
- Registered owner
- Hawkins & Powers Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 29, 1992 · 35 hours before
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- S71 · Chinook
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 11,000 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 9,400 as pilot in command · 38 in the last 90 days · 32 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 1 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.