Hughes 369D N163PJ

Summary

On 27 November 2012 at about 23:15 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N163PJ, operated by P J Helicopters Inc, was involved in an accident near Sheridan, Oregon, United States. One person was 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

27 November 2012 at 23:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Sheridan, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

45.1053, -123.3878

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N163PJ

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

P J Helicopters Inc

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

External Load

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sheridan → Sheridan

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13CA057

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to prevent the helicopter from entering a vortex ring state (settling with power) condition during an external load operation, which resulted in the helicopter’s main rotor blades impacting the truck.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a Christmas tree harvest, the pilot was repositioning trees from the harvest field onto a truck bed using an 18-foot tag line. He had completed at least five loads before the accident load. During the accident load, the pilot had just released the load onto the truck when he thought the helicopter was encountering a settling with power condition. The pilot maneuvered the helicopter to land on the road in front of the truck. The pilot thought he was clear of the truck; however, the main rotor blades hit the truck just above the cab. The helicopter impacted the ground and the main rotor blades struck and separated the tailboom from the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter or engine that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.