Hughes 269B accident near Salesville, AR
On July 15, 2008, a Hughes 269B (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Salesville, AR. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 15, 2008
- Place
- Salesville, AR
- Aircraft
- Hughes 269B · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 36.244°N, 92.240°W
- NTSB ID
- 20080722X01096
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 15, 2008, at 0926 central daylight time (CDT), a Hughes 269B helicopter, N469E, struck a high voltage transmission line and impacted terrain while conducting a power line patrol near Salesville, Arkansas. The commercial pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The helicopter was destroyed. The flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight originated from a non-airport location near Willow Springs, Missouri. The pilot departed his home near West Plains, Missouri at 0714 and arrived at Willow Springs, Missouri, at 0741. The pilot departed that location at 0748 with an employee of Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative onboard and they proceeded to follow SHO-ME high voltage transmission lines to look for vegetation encroachment. At the time of the accident the helicopter was following SHO-ME high voltage transmission line 609 (SM-609), which terminated at the Norfork Dam substation. Beginning three quarters of a mile southeast of the Norfork substation SM-609 followed a westerly heading and descended from the top of a ridge into a valley, where it turned north .35 miles south of the substation. Approximately 160 feet east of where SM-609 turns north, an Entergy 161 kilovolt (KV) high voltage transmission line (Ent-161), which ran north-south, crossed perpendicular and above SM-609. Ent-161 was comprised of three high voltage transmission lines, which ran parallel to each other and were suspended below
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the crossing transmission line.
More accidents in AR
- Beech 65-A80, May 16, 2005
- Cessna 208B, Apr 28, 2001
- Piper PA-23-250, Nov 17, 2002
- Grumman G1159, Jan 19, 1990
- Piper PA-31-350, May 8, 2005
Browse: Arkansas · 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.
