- Date
- December 8, 2022, 11:15, time zone not recorded
- Place
- La Sal, UT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N458HWHughes 369D
- Defining event
- Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20221208020979A
- Case key
- 106442
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 maintain clearance from terrain during a toe-in landing to sloping terrain which resulted in a loss of helicopter 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 pilot reported that, while the helicopter was in a stable hover against a mountain slope [toe-in landing], there was suddenly a “big bang”, and the helicopter began to descend and violently shuddered. He attempted to maneuver away from the slope, but the helicopter slid down the slope then came to rest on its left side. The pilot suspected a loose rock may have fell into the main rotor system or the main rotor blades contacted the slope. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, main rotor, and tail cone. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N458HW
- Reported as
- Hughes 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 390483D
- Built
- 1979
- Engine
- Rolls-Royce, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Heliwild Investments LLC
- Registered owner
- Heliwild Investments LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Airport
- N/A
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 21, 2022
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 5,536 total · 1,400 in this make and model · 5,450 as pilot in command · 120 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Other flight crew
- Age
- 34
- Injuries
- None
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 12 °F, dew point 23 °F
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 31, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.6 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.