Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ketchikan, Alaska 99901
Saturday, July 13, 1996 13:25 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot & copilot were on an external load, aero logging operation in a military surplus helicopter, lifting an estimated load of 18,000 lbs. Ground personnel heard a popping sound, then saw the tailrotor begin to slow down as the helicopter began to yaw/spin. It descended to sloping terrain in an area of cut logs. Postcrash exam of the tailrotor drive shaft revealed a separation at the number 5 bearing position. The shaft separation exhibited evidence of high heat & melting of adjoining shaft surfaces. The bearing & its housing were not recovered. The bearing had accrued 505 hrs of service, & was 1 of 2 bearing model numbers that were in use. The bearing was manufactured in 1991, & was purchased by the operator from surplus military supplies. The supplier (of the bearing to the operator) had performed an exterior exam of the bearing & marked 'relubed 10/95' on the bearing box. Exam of the remaining tailrotor drive shaft bearings revealed evidence of low grease fill, water & glycol contamination, & wear patterns consistent with misalignment. In civilian service, the bearing was an 'on condition' part. The operator established a service life of 1,000 hours for aero logging operations. A shelf life for the bearing was not established. The manufacturer indicated the bearing should support a 5 year shelf life. Other operators of the accident helicopter in aero logging reported similar examples of low grease fill & bearing contamination from water in both available models of bearing.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
failure of the number 5 tailrotor bearing. A factor relating to the accident was: the uneven/steep sloping terrain, where the pilot was forced to land. Possible factors were: inadequate handling/labeling of the 'relubed' bearing by intermediate supplyier(s), and/or insufficient shelf life/service limits for military surplus parts.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/13/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1325 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | KETCHIKAN |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99901 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Witness |
| Time of the weather observation | 0 |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 15 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 366 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 13 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1600 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 10:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N541SB |
| NTSB Number | ANC96FA098 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Sikorsky |
| Aircraft Model | CH-54A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | CH-54A |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 68-18433 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 42000 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 10 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 13 |
| Airframe Hours | 4362 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | SILVER BAY LOGGING CO. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 8429 LIVINGSTON WAY |
| Aircraft Owner City | JUNEAU |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99801 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | External Load |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Unknown |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Unknown |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Unknown |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | |
| Departure City | SHELTER COVE |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1308 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Hover |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:30AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |