Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Whitley City, Kentucky 42653
Monday, November 12, 2001 14:20 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was conducting a fire suppression flight. While indicating approximately 100 knots of airspeed, with an empty water bucket that was occasionally unstable during the flight, the pilot heard a "bang." The helicopter yawed to the right, and the tail rotor quit spinning. The pilot jettisoned the bucket, and because there was no place to land, he continued to the dip-point. At the dip-point, the pilot selected an open area. The area was sloped, but the pilot was uncertain of the airworthiness of the helicopter and did not want to look for another area. He entered a "needles joined autorotation." As the helicopter slowed, it started to spin to the right. The spin stopped, the helicopter impacted the ground, and then rolled onto its right side with little or no power applied to the main rotor. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the bucket had entered the arc of the tail rotor, and that the tail-rotor driveshaft was severed consistent with overload. The operating manual for the bucket stated that the bucket had been proven stable up to an airspeed of approximately 96 knots, and that a bucket with a overall length greater than the distance from the cargo hook to the front arc of the tail rotor could result in a tail rotor strike. The emergency procedure for a complete loss of tail rotor thrust in-flight was reduce throttle to idle, and immediately enter autorotation. If a suitable landing site was not available, the vertical fin may permit controlled flight to a suitable area.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilots decision to operate the helicopter at an airspeed in excess of the maximum demonstrated stable airspeed for the water bucket. A factor in the accident was the pilot did not follow the published emergency procedure.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/12/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1420 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Whitley City |
| Event State | KENTUCKY |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 42653 |
| 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 | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1400 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 175 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SME |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 927 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 30 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| 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) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 120 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.4 |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 11845 |
| NTSB Notification Source | SOUTHERN REGION |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 12 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1555 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 4 2002 9:52AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Louisville, KY |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N11HX |
| NTSB Number | NYC02TA026 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Public Use |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | 407 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 53471 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5250 |
| 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 | 7 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 30 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 40.8 |
| Airframe Hours | 321.2 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Helicopter Express Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 500 Briscoe Blvd. Suite 5B |
| Aircraft Owner City | Lawrenceville |
| Aircraft Owner State | KY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 30045 |
| 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) | Public Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Whitley City |
| Departure State | KY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| 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 | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 17 2002 11:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | PEAR |
| 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 | -- |