A.L. Mangham Jr. Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Nacogdoches, Texas 75961
Friday, April 27, 2001 17:40 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The helicopter was parked on a trailer between two T-hangars and under a power line. The pilot stated that he cleared the area around the helicopter; however, he did not clear the area directly over the helicopter. The pilot lifted off the trailer and impacted the power line approximately 30 feet above the ground. The pilot mentioned that at the time of the accident, "the sun was at an angle and intensity so that the wires were not visible." He also stated that the wires were not marked with red balls. The power line wrapped around the main rotor mast and partially separated one of the main rotor blades. The helicopter then entered an uncontrolled descent and impacted the ground.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the wires during takeoff. Contributory factors were the sunglare and the unmarked wires.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/27/2001
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1740
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Nacogdoches
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 75961
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 A.L. Mangham Jr. Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OCH
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 10513
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 30 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 730
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Sep 19 2001 10:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Houston, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9508F
NTSB Number FTW01LA109
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Hughes
Aircraft Model 269B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1070338
Certified Max Gross Weight 1670
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Dec 1 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 10000
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Roger A. Buis
Aircraft Owner Street Address 207 White Oak
Aircraft Owner City Ozark
Aircraft Owner State AL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 36360
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 None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code OCH
Departure City Nacogdoches
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1740
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Nacogdoches
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Hover
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 23 2001 3:38PM
User who most recently changed record MORJU
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --