Mcdonnell Douglas 369FF accident near Lihue, HI
On December 26, 2005, a Mcdonnell Douglas 369FF (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Lihue, HI. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 26, 2005
- Place
- Lihue, HI
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas 369FF · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 21.983°N, 159.375°W
- NTSB ID
- 20060119X00089
Official records · LAX06FA069
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 25, 2005, at 1740 Hawaiian standard time, a McDonnell Douglas 369FF (also known as a 530FF) helicopter, N530MD, impacted small trees and water at the De Mello reservoir following an in-flight loss of control while hovering out of ground effect near Lihue, Hawaii. The helicopter was operated by Smoky Mountain Helicopters, Hanapepe, Hawaii, doing business as Inter-Island Helicopters (Air-1) as a fire suppression asset for the Kauai Fire Department (KFD) under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 133, Rotorcraft External Load Operations. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured, and the helicopter was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a flight plan had not been filed. The local flight departed a parking lot located in the vicinity of a brush fire near Lihue, about 10 minutes prior to the accident. According to Inter-Island Helicopters personnel, they received a call from KFD requesting their assistance in suppressing a brush fire that was nearing an apartment complex. The company's chief pilot dispatched the accident pilot and the ground supervisor to the fire to assist KFD personnel. According to the ground supervisor, the pilot flew him to the apartment parking lot where he then proceeded to hook up the 25-foot line and 140-gallon Bambi Bucket to the helicopter. The pilot then departed the parking lot and headed to the De Mello reservoir to fill the bucket with water. A witness located near the accident site reported that the helicopter dropped down over the reser
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while hovering out of ground effect during an external load operation. A contributing factor was the pilot's lack of experience in external load operations.
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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.
