Hughes 269A accident near Fort Gibson, OK
On November 1, 2002, a Hughes 269A (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Fort Gibson, OK. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- November 1, 2002
- Place
- Fort Gibson, OK
- Aircraft
- Hughes 269A · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.776°N, 95.136°W
- NTSB ID
- 20021106X05440
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On November 01, 2002, approximately 1150 central standard time, a Hughes 269A helicopter, N8885F, impacted the terrain following a loss of control during cruise flight near Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. The helicopter was owned and operated by Tundra Resources Corporation of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The private pilot, its sole occupant, received fatal injuries, and the helicopter was destroyed during the impact sequence and post-crash fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the planned cross-country flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight originated from Cookson, Oklahoma, at an unknown time, with a planned destination of Tulsa, Oklahoma. A witness, who was working outside in his front yard, reported that he observed the helicopter flying overhead in a westerly direction. He stopped working, looked up, and watched the helicopter for about 8 seconds as it passed overhead. Subsequently, he "saw a piece of the tail rotor fly off," and the helicopter "pitched to the right." He added that the "entire main rotor" appeared to "break away," and the "cockpit of the helicopter began spinning very fast and fell to the ground." The witness stated that the entire sequence from "start to finish lasted about five seconds." Another witness, who was walking along a road, reported that he heard the helicopter approaching from the east. He looked up and observed it pass overhead. He continued to walk down the road, and then heard a "pop," He then "looked back up," and observed the "main rotor slowing rapidly and wobbling". Sub
Probable cause
The in-flight separation of the tail boom resulting from the failure of the fuselage to tail boom attachment fitting lugs, due to fatigue.
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Browse: Oklahoma · 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.
