Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Richmond, Texas 77469
Saturday, November 17, 2001 17:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The private pilot, who was not helicopter rated, was attempting to land the helicopter near a friend's house when the main rotor blades contacted power lines. The helicopter landed hard and came to rest upright in a grass field. The tailboom was severed by the main rotor blades, the main rotor blades were bent and fractured, and the skids were spread up and outward, level with the bottom of the cabin section.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the power line while landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/17/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Richmond
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77469
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 11
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 Partial - limited by pilot
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 Dusk
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) 24
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 Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12107
NTSB Notification Source FAA Communications Center
NTSB Notification Date Nov 17 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 26 2002 11:02AM
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 N9294F
NTSB Number FTW02LA038
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 269C
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 650421
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 9 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1708
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name David W. Christopher
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1616 Leesway Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Richmond
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77469
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Damon
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1710
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Richmond
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 19 2002 4:52PM
User who most recently changed record SNYG
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 --