Mcdonnell Douglas 369D accident near Volcano, HI
On June 15, 2003, a Mcdonnell Douglas 369D (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Volcano, HI. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 15, 2003
- Place
- Volcano, HI
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas 369D · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 19.317°N, 155.067°W
- NTSB ID
- 20030630X00970
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On June 15, 2003, at 0935 Hawaiian standard time, a McDonnell Douglas Helicopter, Inc., (MDHI) 369D, N4493M, impacted a lava field on the Pulama Pali in the Volcanoes National Park, Volcano, Hawaii. K & S Helicopters, d.b.a. Tropical Tour Helicopters, operated the helicopter under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 135. A post impact fire destroyed the helicopter. The commercial rotorcraft-helicopter certified pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The local area flight to the volcanoes departed the Hilo International Airport (ITO), Hilo, Hawaii, at 0915. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. The tour was scheduled as a 45-minute flight that would have entailed flying over the Pu'u O'o Vents, down towards the shoreline to see molten lava flowing into the ocean, and then back to ITO. For this tour, the helicopter was configured for the pilot side door to be removed, and with the passenger side door to remain in place. In an interview with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC), the helicopter loader and manager for Tropical Tour Helicopters stated that on the morning of the accident he had conducted a visual inspection of the helicopter before the pilot arrived. Part of the inspection was to wash the belly of the helicopter off; the manager noted a normal condition with no stains or leaks. The pilot showed up at 0800, in good spirits. He saw the pilot conduct a preflight inspection of the helicopter before repositioning it to the ramp where the
Probable cause
a loss of engine power due to the fatigue fracture and separation of the compressor coupling adapter. The fatigue fracture was initiated by fretting on the pilot diameter due to both the inadequate design of the coupling and the coaxial misalignment of the spur adapter gear, compressor-coupling adapter, and compressor impeller during recent engine maintenance where the gearbox was removed and repl
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Browse: Hawaii · Mcdonnell Douglas 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.
