Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Du Quoin, Illinois 62832
Wednesday, April 18, 2001 14:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that he was using an aerial saw to side trim trees along a powerline right-of-way. The pilot said, "At the end of the tree line at approximately 150' (feet) agl (above ground level) I applied power to climb, immediately the low rotor rpm horn sounded. I tried to increase N2/Nr (engine and rotor rpm) with the governor 'beep switch' and checked N2/Nr. There was no response from trying to increase N2/Nr and N2/Nr was in the low 90's. I lowered the collective, released the saw and radioed my ground crew that the engine had stopped. At this point I had low airspeed, low N2/Nr and approximately 100' agl. I aimed the aircraft at an open field and tried to gain airspeed to attempt a running landing." The pilot said the helicopter "impacted the field in a near horizontal attitude." An examination of the helicopter at the accident site showed the helicopter resting on its left side in a corn stubble field approximately 300 feet south of east-west running power lines, and approximately 730 feet from a clearway of trees where the helicopter was cutting prior to the accident. An examination of the helicopter revealed no anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, the pilot operating the helicopter outside of the height-velocity curve, and the pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter during the emergency landing. Factors relating to the accident were the pilot's attempted run-on landing and his improper in-flight decision to not land immediately after experiencing the engine problem.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/18/2001
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City DU QUOIN
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 62832
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 4
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 Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 194
Weather Observation Facility ID CGI
Elevation of weather observation facility 336
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 53
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.3
Density Altitude (feet) -54
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11643
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 19 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 802
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 21 2002 10:26AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N713HT
NTSB Number CHI01LA119
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Hughes
Aircraft Model 369D
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 370096D
Certified Max Gross Weight 3550
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Apr 9 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 29
Airframe Hours 9427
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AERIAL SOLUTIONS, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 7074 RAMSEY FORD ROAD
Aircraft Owner City TABOR CITY
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 28463
Operator is an individual? No
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 --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation External Load
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) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City DU QUOIN
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 - out of ground effect
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2002 7:54AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --