Schramm HELICYCLE N3275Q

Summary

On 27 April 2004 at about 21:00 local time, a Schramm HELICYCLE registered N3275Q was involved in an accident near Montour, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 April 2004 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Montour, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

43.9317, -116.3564

Aircraft

Schramm HELICYCLE

Registration

N3275Q

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Montour → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA04LA074

1 person died.

In flight collision with terrain for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot participated in a photo shoot earlier in the morning before landing and being refueled by company ground support personnel. Communication with the departing helicopter was maintained with ground support personnel until it went around a hill and out of sight. The aircraft was subsequently reported missing and located later in the day, partially submerged in a river located approximately 1 mile northwest of the departure point. There were no witnesses to the accident. An examination of the accident site revealed extensive damage to the helicopter due to impact forces with the water. The tail rotor, tail rotor drive shaft, and a major portion of the empennage and the fuel tanks were missing and never recovered. The engine and accessories were separated from the helicopter's airframe structure. The main rotor mast was free to turn and remained connected to the gearbox. Control continuity could not be determined due to the extensive damage to the helicopter. A small metal arm welded to the tail rotor pedal control torque tube was broken off. An examination of the rudder pedal assembly by the NTSB Materials Laboratory revealed that the fracture surface patterns were consistent with a bending overstress separation. It could not be determined whether the overstress condition was the result of a precrash or postcrash event. The pilot's helmet, equipped with a video recording device, was not recoverd during the postcrash recovery.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.