Hughes 369 accident near Talking Rock, GA
On March 5, 2019, a Hughes 369 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Talking Rock, GA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- March 5, 2019
- Place
- Talking Rock, GA
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 34.533°N, 84.522°W
- NTSB ID
- 20190305X64637
Official records · ERA19FA118
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 5, 2019, about 1110 eastern standard time, an MD Helicopters 369D, N89ZC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Talking Rock, Georgia. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 133 external load flight. The pilot was using a 10-bladed aerial saw to trim trees along power lines, and was to complete three passes (upper, middle, and lower) to trim the full height of the trees. A witness reported that the pilot performed the upper pass, then returned for the middle pass when the helicopter began to rotate counterclockwise around the main motor mast. It completed one full rotation, and during the second rotation, the helicopter impacted trees and then the ground. The helicopter came to rest on its right side and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and tailboom. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The helicopter’s main rotor was equipped with five blades that turned counterclockwise when viewed from above. The most recent 100-hr and 300-hr airframe inspections were performed on February 18, 2019, at an aircraft total time of 13,637.0 hours (2,349.0 hours Hobbs time). The Hobbs meter indicated 2,382.3 hours at the accident site. A review of maintenance records revealed that, before its installation on the accident helicopter, the overrunning clutch subassembly had been repaired, which included the installation of a new outer race. The overrunning clutch subassembly was installed onto the accident helicopter at the most recent inspection. According to the mai
Probable cause
A fatigue failure of the overrunning clutch subassembly due to abnormal bending loads due to cracks on the center engine mount, which resulted in an inflight loss of power. Contributing to the accident was the helicopter's low altitude and airspeed when the loss of power occurred, which precluded the pilot from successfully performing an autorotation.
More accidents in GA
- Embraer EMB-120RT, Apr 5, 1991
- Cessna 208, Sep 29, 1985
- Beech 400, Dec 11, 1991
- Embraer EMB-120RT, Aug 21, 1995
- Mitsubishi MU-2B-30, Apr 20, 1982
Browse: Georgia · 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.
