Hughes 369D N1092L

Summary

On 14 April 1984 at about 18:10 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N1092L was involved in an accident near Kent, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

14 April 1984 at 18:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Kent, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.3600, -122.0991

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N1092L

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pendleton → Seattle

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA84LA083

1 person had minor injuries.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PLT REQUESTED CLEARANCE TO TRANSIT THE SEATTLE TCA FOR A LANDING AT BOEING FIELD. HE WAS ADVISED OF A DC-10 DEPARTING THE SEATTLE-TACOMA INTL ARPT & WAS CAUTIONED ABOUT POSSIBLE WAKE TURBULENCE. THE DC-10 PASSED THE HELICOPTER WITH ABOUT 1 1/2 MI LATERAL SEPARATION & WAS ABOUT 600 FT HIGHER THAN THE HELICOPTER. SHORTLY AFTER THAT, THE HELICOPTER ENCOUNTERED VIOLENT VORTEX TURBULENCE. IT EXCEEDED 90 DEG OF BANK & 90 DEG OF NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE, AT WHICH TIME, THE ENG FLAMED OUT. THE TURBULENCE CONTINUED THRU-OUT THE ENSUING AUTOROTATION, BUT DIMINISHED DURING THE LAST 100 TO 200 FT. THE PLT TRIED TO FLARE FOR A LANDING, BUT THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES FLEXED DOWNWIND & CONTACTED THE TAIL BOOM. DURING RECOVERY, LESS THAN 1 QT OF FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE HELICOPTER.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.