Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744
Friday, June 6, 1997 10:45 HST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The helicopter pilot was preparing to sling a metal utility pole. As he picked up the load, one of the sling lines snagged. Although ground personnel saw what was happening, the line slipped off before they were able to radio the pilot. The pilot had not verified the security of the load. When this occurred, a shock was transmitted through the airframe to the main rotor system. The pilot felt a resonance and put the load back on the ground. The resonance increased, however, and the pilot jettisoned the sling. The pilot reported that the control response had become mushy, and he believed he was losing control of the helicopter, so he initiated a precautionary landing. The helicopter was over sloping terrain, and as it touched down, the stinger and tail rotor struck the ground.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot to verify that the load was properly rigged before attempting to pick it up. The uneven (sloping) terrain was a related factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/6/1997
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1045
Event Time Zone Hawaii Standard Time
Event City KANEOHE
Event State HAWAII
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96744
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 6
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1100 Hawaii Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 218
Weather Observation Facility ID HNL
Elevation of weather observation facility 13
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation HST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1484
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 6 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1715
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:20PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N64F
NTSB Number LAX97LA204
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Bell
Aircraft Model 204-B
Aircraft Series Identifier 204-B
Aircraft Serial Number 2027
Certified Max Gross Weight 9500
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 11
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection May 30 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 4
Airframe Hours 6227
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name THOMAS HAUPTMAN
Aircraft Owner Street Address KAHULUI HELIPORT, HANGER 109
Aircraft Owner City KAHULUI
Aircraft Owner State HI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 96723
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 DBZL
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) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code HNL
Departure City HONOLULU
Departure State HI
Departure Country
Departure Time 730
Departure Time Zone HST
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 Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
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 --