Hughes 369D N5070J

Summary

On 8 April 2000 at about 16:00 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N5070J was involved in an accident near Lemont, Illinois, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 April 2000 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lemont, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

41.6697, -87.9909

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N5070J

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI00FA110

1 person had minor injuries.

the loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A factor was the operation within the cross "hatched area" of the helicopter's height/velocity curve by the company.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter impacted muddy terrain following an auto rotation while conducting power line maintenance. The autorotation was executed from a hover altitude of 100 feet agl. Review of the helicopter's height velocity diagram indicated that the operation was conducted within the "cross hatched" area. Operation within the "cross hatched" area may not allow enough time for the critical transition from powered flight to autorotation. Examination of the airframe, engine and related components revealed no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.