Hughes 369D N519BH

Summary

On 14 April 1996 at about 18:55 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N519BH was involved in an accident near Yerington, Nevada, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 April 1996 at 18:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Yerington, Nevada, United States

Coordinates

38.8708, -119.1394

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N519BH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX96LA168

Nobody was injured.

the partial loss of engine power and the pilot's misjudged flare during an autorotation landing in soft dirt with excessive forward speed. The power loss resulted from flight operations in an environment which debris contaminated the engine's nozzle port and compressor assembly.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot experienced a total loss of engine power while cruising between 200 and 300 feet above ground level and at an airspeed of 100 knots. The pilot reported that the engine noise resembled the same whining as if it were in a shut down mode. The pilot entered an autorotation and landed in an open field approximately 0.5 miles from his airstrip. The accident site examination revealed that the helicopter had touched down with forward speed and made depressions in the soft ground over a distance of 25 to 30 feet. The helicopter rolled onto its side and a main rotor blade severed the tail boom. Tail rotor blade and drive shaft components separated from the helicopter and were found 200 feet from the main wreckage. The last annual inspection was performed 6 months prior to the accident flight and the aircraft had flown 16.9 hours. Also, the last compressor wash was performed about 2 months prior to the flight and had flown 8 hours since then. The postaccident engine examination revealed accumulated nozzle port debris and dirty compressor blades and vanes. The engine flamed out during its first test run and, during subsequent tests, it produced power 7.8 percent below specifications.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.