McDonnell Douglas 369D N58388

Summary

On 8 September 1995 at about 21:45 local time, a McDonnell Douglas 369D registered N58388 was involved in an accident near Pearl City, Hawaii, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 September 1995 at 21:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Pearl City, Hawaii, United States

Coordinates

21.4003, -157.9593

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas 369D

Registration

N58388

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Honolulu → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX95TA328

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to secure his cargo/personal belongings which departed from the aircraft and struck the tail rotor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HELICOPTER PILOT WAS RETURNING TO THE HOME BASE AFTER SURVEYING A BRUSHFIRE. HIS ROUTE OF FLIGHT WAS ACROSS A MOUNTAIN RIDGELINE. JUST AFTER THE CROSSING, THE PILOT FELT A BUMP TO THE REAR OF THE HELICOPTER. A SEVERE VIBRATION WAS FELT IN THE TAIL ROTOR ANTITORQUE PEDALS. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO GUIDE THE HELICOPTER TO A SUITABLE LANDING AREA. UPON REACHING THE ONLY SITE AVAILABLE, THE HELICOPTER BEGAN TO ROTATE ABOUT THE VERTICAL AXIS, LANDING HARD ON A RIDGELINE. THE HELICOPTER WAS BEING OPERATED WITH THE DOORS OFF AND THE PILOT'S FLIGHT JACKET WAS MISSING. LABORATORY ANALYSIS OF FIBERS FOUND ON A TAIL ROTOR BLADE MATCHED FIBERS FROM A STANDARD ISSUE FIRE DEPARTMENT JACKET SIMILAR TO THE PILOT'S JACKET THAT WAS MISSING.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.