Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Haleyville, Alabama 35565
Friday, August 16, 2002 22:15 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During cruise flight, the helicopter lost engine power, and the pilot was unable to restore it. During the forced landing in the darkness, the pilot was unable to see the terrain, and the helicopter hit the ground hard. Examination of the engine revealed two lower screws of the No. 3 valve cover were missing. The attachment bolts of the intake pipes of both the No. 1 and No. 3 cylinder assemblies were found loose. The No. 3 intake pipe was found rotated approximately 180 degrees from the normally installed position. The gaskets normally installed under the intake pipe flanges of the No. 1 and No. 3 intake pipes were missing. The No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 spark plugs were wet with fuel, and the No. 3 spark plug was dry and displayed tan-colored combustion deposits. A review of maintenance records revealed the engine had operated 38.2 hours since inspection.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The failure of maintenance personnel to perform an adequate inspection of loose intake components, which resulted in a total loss of engine power and subsequent emergency descent, forced landing, and collision with terrain in dark night conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/16/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 2215 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Haleyville |
| Event State | ALABAMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 35565 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 341334N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0873721W |
| 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 | 2153 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 175 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MSL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 550 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 35 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| 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) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 120 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.17 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1279 |
| 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) | 13054 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Communication Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 17 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 900 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 29 2003 4:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Birmingham FSDO - 09 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N269FW |
| NTSB Number | ATL02LA159 |
| 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 | Schweizer |
| Aircraft Model | 300C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | S1431 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2050 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 2 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 38 |
| Airframe Hours | 2683 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Freedom Flight, LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1910 Marengo Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | Demopolis |
| Aircraft Owner State | AL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 36732 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Byron K. Hamilton |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| 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 | TCL |
| Departure City | Tuscaloosa |
| Departure State | AL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 2100 |
| Departure Time Zone | UTC |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | M22 |
| Destination City | Russellville |
| Destination State | AL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency descent/landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 14 2002 1:53PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CHRS |
| 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 | -- |