Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lakehead, California 96051
Tuesady, March 26, 2002 15:38 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The twin-engine helicopter impacted trees and terrain following a likely loss of power in the left engine while maneuvering. According to one witness, as the helicopter overflew his position, he observed the main rotor blades rotating very slowly to the point where they were coning and each blade could be viewed individually. This witness observed a tan smoke emanating from the transmission area. The helicopter then "fell like a rock," and impacted the ground. The witness indicated he heard the engines surging when he reached the accident site. Another witness did not hear any engine noise as the helicopter passed overhead. A post crash fire consumed the cabin, main transmission case, and, heavily damaged both engines. A post-accident examination of the helicopter revealed the main rotor and tail rotor blades sustained little to no leading edge damage though the helicopter fell through 150-foot pine trees. The number 1 engine displayed no rotational damage to its internal components. The number 2 engine sustained heat and tip rub damage to the 1st and 2nd stage gas turbine blades in a manner that suggested the damage occurred while the rotors were rotating. Numerous components from each engine were completely destroyed by the post-accident fire and could not be examined. The main rotor transmission case was nearly burned away. The exposed transmission gears displayed no signs of pre-existing anomalies; however, complete continuity of the transmission could not be established due to thermal damage. The number 1 and number 2 input free wheeling units were examined and displayed no signs of improper operation. The cockpit sustained severe fire damage; however, the left side triple tachometer and both left and right side torque indicators were examined. The torque indicators both displayed the number 1 engine torque at 13 percent, while the number 2 engine torque indication was only available on the left torque indicator, which displayed a number 2 engine torque reading of 140 percent.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, and the flight crew's failure to maintain rotor rpm following a loss of engine power while maneuvering.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/26/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1538
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Lakehead
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96051
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 410228N
Event Location Longitude 1221140W
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID RDD
Elevation of weather observation facility 510
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 30
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
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) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) 3433
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16108
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 26 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 1 2004 7:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Sacremento, California

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N318Y
NTSB Number LAX02FA116
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 Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Sikorsky
Aircraft Model S-61A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 61094
Certified Max Gross Weight 21100
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 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Mar 21 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 11.5
Airframe Hours 41837.8
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Croman Corporation
Aircraft Owner Street Address 801 Avenue C
Aircraft Owner City White City
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97503
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 JYEL
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City Lakehead
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone PST
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 2004 6:22PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --