- Date
- September 12, 2013, 13:50 local (23:50 UTC)
- Place
- Kalalau, HI
- Injuries
- 3 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N519PAHughes 369D
- Defining event
- Standing-engine(s) operating: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 23, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20130912022659A
- Case key
- 88037
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 entanglement of a tarp in the helicopter's main rotor from a nearby trash bundle.
Findings · 1
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 pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to drop off crew members and pick up secured bundles of trash from a remote landing zone. He had landed at this landing zone several times throughout the day. After an uneventful landing, the helicopter started to shake abruptly. The pilot maintained control of the helicopter until the shaking stopped and he could shut down the engine. A witness reported that a tarp from a nearby trash bundle had flown up into the main rotor blades; subsequently, one of the main rotor blades departed the helicopter and sustained substantial damage. There were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operations.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to drop off crew members and pick up secured bundles of trash from a remote landing zone. He had landed at this landing zone several times throughout the day. After an uneventful landing, the helicopter started to shake abruptly. The pilot maintained control of the helicopter until the shaking stopped and he could shut down the engine. A witness reported that a tarp from a nearby trash bundle had flown up into the main rotor blades; subsequently, one of the main rotor blades departed the helicopter and sustained substantial damage. There were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N519PA
- Reported as
- Hughes 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 370097D
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 5,261
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20b, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Airborne Aviation Inc
- Registered owner
- Patriot Aviation Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 17, 2013 · 62 hours before
- Departed
- HLI · Lihue Airport, HI
- Destination
- Kalalau, HI
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 28
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 26, 2013
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 4,822 total · 2,517 in this make and model · 4,663 as pilot in command · 89 in the last 90 days · 39 in the last 30 days · 9 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,600 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.96 inHg
- Observed at
- HBK, 12 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 15, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.1 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.