- Date
- December 28, 2008, 05:45 local (05:45 UTC)
- Place
- Honiara, Solomon Islands
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N104BNHughes 369
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 12, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Case key
- 73157
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 pilot's failure to remove the tail rotor pedal lock before attempting flight, resulting in a loss of control.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The helicopter was being operated from a fishing vessel in open ocean waters. A witness, who was the mechanic for the helicopter, reported that the pilot forgot to remove the tail rotor pedal lock before takeoff. The helicopter lifted off and began to spin. The mechanic saw the pilot "trying to grab the pedal lock;" however, the pilot was unsuccessful. The helicopter impacted the water, the fixed floats separated, and the helicopter sank.
Factual narrative
On December 28, 2008, about 0545 Coordinated Universal Time, a Hughes 369A helicopter, N104BN, impacted ocean water and sank following a loss of control on takeoff from a fishing vessel in the Pacific Ocean's Solomon Sea, about 350 miles west of Honiara, Solomon Islands. The pilot, a Philippine national, was not found and is presumed dead, and the passenger, a Chinese national, sustained serious injuries. The helicopter, which was registered to Oceanside Helicopters, Inc., of Port Vila, Vanuatu, was not recovered and is presumed destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 local work use flight. According to a written statement provided by the helicopter's mechanic, who witnessed the accident, the pilot forgot to remove the tail rotor pedal lock before takeoff. The helicopter lifted off and began to spin. The mechanic saw the pilot "trying to grab the pedal lock;" however, the pilot was unsuccessful. The helicopter impacted the water, the fixed floats separated, and the helicopter sank.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N104BN
- Reported as
- Hughes 369 (A)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 591148
- Engine
- Allison 250, 350 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Oceanside Helicopters Inc.
- Registered owner
- Oceanside Helicopters Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 16, 2008
- Departed
- Honiara
- Destination
- Honiara
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
- 49
- Injuries
- Fatal
- Certificate
- Foreign
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,600 total · 600 in this make and model · 2,400 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.85 inHg
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 12, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 941 KB in all.