Hughes OH-6A accident near Newark, TX
On September 25, 1998, a Hughes OH-6A (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Newark, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 25, 1998
- Place
- Newark, TX
- Aircraft
- Hughes OH-6A · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 32.660°N, 97.159°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X11079
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT At 1115 central daylight time (CDT), September 25, 1998, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) OH-6A, registration N234ZM, manufactured by Hughes Helicopter as serial no. 59-1178, crashed about 1 mile east of Copeland Airport (airport identifier 4TA, airport elevation 688 feet mean sea level - msl), Newark, Texas. [1, reference footnotes following Narrative] The helicopter impacted on a southwesterly course onto slightly-rising ranchland about 3/4 mile from the headquarters of Kenneth Copeland Ministries. [2] The land in the area of the crash site was owned by the Texas National Guard and was used by the DEA for helicopter flight training. [3] There were two persons on board the helicopter: an instructor pilot (IP) who was an employee of Raytheon Corporation, and a transition pilot (TP). The TP was a DEA special agent/pilot on a syllabus flight as part of transition training from reciprocating engine-powered helicopters to the turbine-powered OH-6A. The DEA-owned public-use aircraft was being flown on a VFR flight plan, as an instructional flight conducted under the Code of Federal Regulations, 14 CFR Part 91. The IP sustained fatal injuries. [4] The TP escaped from the wreckage, having sustained severe burns. [5] The helicopter was destroyed. [6] The flight departed the DEA operations facility at Alliance Airport (identifier KAFW), Texas, at 1028 CDT [7] for the practice area, about 9 miles west of KAFW . The TP received a commercial pilot "add-on" helicopter rating, September 19, 1998, following an FAA check flight in a Schweizer 300CB. [8] Prior to be
Probable cause
Failure of the Instructor Pilot to control the helicopter's rate of descent during a demonstrated autorotation. Contributing to the accident were the Operator's lack of: a. Instructor Pilot standardization procedures, and b. Specific or adequate flight demonstration procedures and techniques for both instructor and transition pilots.
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Browse: Texas · Hughes aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
