Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Fernando Luis Ribas Domi. Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
San Juan
Monday, April 27, 1998 10:45 AST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the FAA, the pilot had a cargo strap in an external basket which blew out of the container and wrapped around the tail rotor, damaging the pitch change links, and the 90 degree gearbox. The pilot attempted to hover during a run on landing, and the helicopter began spinning and impacted the ground. According to the pilot, he heard a bang, and then lost control of the anti-torque rotor pedals. Prior to touchdown, the helicopter yawed to the right, made a 360 degree turn, and impacted the ground. The Schweizer Aircraft Corp. Pilot's Flight Manual states that in the event of a tail rotor failure, a pilot should enter autorotation. The FAA's Advisory Circular 61-13B states that during the run on landing procedure, directional control should be maintained with cyclic control and by applying throttle to swing the nose to the right. One should not attempt to hover during a run on landing because it puts the helicopter at a high power setting. Autorotation should be used if the tail rotor failure occurs during a hover or if dangerous attitudes are incurred through the addition of power.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to adequately secure the cargo strap which became entangled in the tail rotor, leading to a loss of the tail rotor control. This was followed by an improperly executed emergency procedure and an in-flight collision with the ground. A factor was the inadequate procedure supplied by the manufacturer.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/27/1998 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1045 |
| Event Time Zone | Atlantic Standard Time |
| Event City | SAN JUAN |
| Event State | PUERTO RICO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 00907 |
| Event Date Year | 1998 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | FERNANDO LUIS RIBAS DOMI. |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | JIG |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 270 |
| Airport Elevation | 10 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 905 Atlantic Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 135 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SJU |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 10 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 4 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | ADT |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 26 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 70 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1800 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 375 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 27 1998 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1330 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 16 2001 11:54AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N61193 |
| NTSB Number | ATL98LA065 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Schweizer |
| Aircraft Model | 269C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 269C |
| Aircraft Serial Number | S1593 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2050 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 3 1998 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 440 |
| Airframe Hours | 440 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WALDEMAR CASTRO |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | ALHAMBRA # 17-13 TORRIMAR |
| Aircraft Owner City | GUAYNABO |
| Aircraft Owner State | PR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 00966 |
| 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 | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | NONE |
| Departure City | CEIBA |
| Departure State | PR |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 945 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SIG |
| Destination City | SAN JUAN |
| Destination State | PR |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 20 2001 6:29PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 9 |
| Runway Length | 5400 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |