Hughes 369A accident near Marietta, PA
On October 31, 2002, a Hughes 369A (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Marietta, PA. 3 people were seriously injured. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- October 31, 2002
- Place
- Marietta, PA
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369A · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 0 fatal, 3 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 40.122°N, 76.296°W
- NTSB ID
- 20021119X05485
NTSB summary
On October 31, 2002, at 1700 eastern standard time, a Hughes 369A, N817SC, was substantially damaged when it impacted the Susquehanna River while practicing confined area maneuvers, and subsequently sank near Marietta, Pennsylvania. The certificated flight instructor, the certificated private pilot and the passenger were seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that departed Lancaster Airport (LNS), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, about1630. No flight plan was filed for the local instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. Each of the three occupants was interviewed in the hospital on the evening of the accident by an officer with the Susquehanna Police Department. According to the police report, the flight instructor said he was at the controls of the helicopter when the accident occurred. He said that he misjudged the helicopter's height above the river, and one of the skids penetrated the water. In a written statement, the flight instructor wrote, "...misjudged the helicopter height above the river. One of the helicopter skids dipped into the water which caused the helicopter to pull nose down into the water." The pilot and the passenger provided similar accounts of the accident. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the helicopter after it was recovered from the water. According to the inspector, the tail boom was severed from the fuselage, but remained partially attached by the tail rotor drive shaft, cables, and electrical wiring. Both tail rotor blades were intact. The main rotor blades were fractured, and a
Probable cause
The flight instructor 's misjudgment of the helicopter's height above the river.
More accidents in PA
- Boeing B-737-300, Sep 8, 1994
- Boeing 757, Sep 11, 2001
- British Aerospace J-3101, May 21, 2000
- Bell UH-1N, May 29, 2008
- Beech A36, Jul 30, 1989
Browse: Pennsylvania · 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.
