Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Arlington Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Arlington, Washington 98223
Thursday, June 27, 2002 15:45 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that on the accident flight, he initially performed a hover and 360-degree pedal turn without problems. He stated that he then entered forward flight at 10 MPH, and then transitioned back to a hover at 3 feet above ground level (AGL), again without problems. He reported that he then turned around and entered forward flight in the opposite direction at 6 feet AGL and 20 MPH, again without problems. He stated that he then turned around again and entered forward flight at 30 MPH. He reported that as he decelerated from 30 MPH back toward a hover, the helicopter experienced a violent vibration of sufficient severity that he felt an immediate run-on landing was necessary. During the run-on landing, the helicopter nosed down, the forward blade struck the ground and the aft blade severed the helicopter's tail boom. The pilot reported that he then saw a flash in the helicopter's engine compartment in his peripheral vision, and thus decided to egress the helicopter immediately. After the pilot egressed, the helicopter's fuel tank caught fire and the helicopter burned. Post accident examination of the helicopter by personnel from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration disclosed no evidence as to the cause of the vibration or its origin.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Aircraft control not maintained during a run-on landing. A vibration of unknown origin was a factor in the accident.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/27/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1545 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Arlington |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98223 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 480939N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1220932W |
| Event Location Airport | ARLINGTON MUNI |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | AWO |
| 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 | 137 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1555 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AWO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 137 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2400 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 15 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 300 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.9 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Light |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13225 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 27 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1615 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 18 2003 4:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Seattle (Renton), WA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N13RM |
| NTSB Number | SEA02LA115 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Seattle Aerotech |
| Aircraft Model | Helipower 2500 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | -- |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 7 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | General Helicopter, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1309 Bonneville Ave Ste C |
| Aircraft Owner City | Snohomish |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 982902065 |
| 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) | Flight Test |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | AWO |
| Departure City | ARLINGTON |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | AWO |
| Destination City | Arlington |
| Destination State | WA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 28 2003 4:17PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| 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 | -- |