Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mt. Tarawera New Zealand
Tuesady, April 30, 2002 16:30

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On April 30, 2002, at 1630 New Zealand Standard Time, a New Zealand registered Hughes 369D, ZK-HRV, rolled over during the landing portion of an autorotation near Mt. Tarawera-Whakarewarewa, New Zealand. The autorotation was precipitated by an oil-starvation induced loss of engine power during cruise. The helicopter, which sustained substantial damage, was owned and operated by New Zealand Helicopters, Ltd., of Rotorua, New Zealand, under the provisions of the New Zealand Civil Aviation Regulations as a commercial passenger transport operation. The commercial pilot and three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight that originated at the Rotorua aerodrome. According to information from the New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC), a failure of the cockpit torque gage wet line led to depletion of the engine oil supply. The autorotative landing was made to an area of undulating grass lands. The accident is under the jurisdiction of, and being investigated by, the New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission. For further information, contact the commission at: PO Box 1210 Wellington, New Zealand 6000 Telephone (64) 4-473-3112 Facsimile (64) 4-499-1510 or at the following web address: www.taic.org.nz

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/30/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone --
Event City Mt. Tarawera
Event State --
Event Country NEW ZEALAND
Zipcode of the event site --
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? --
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 --
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
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 --
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency Foreign
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) --
NTSB Notification Source New Zealand TAIC
NTSB Notification Date Sep 13 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 845
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 19 2002 4:14PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number --
NTSB Number LAX02WA287
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Non-U.S., Commercial
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire --
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Hughes
Aircraft Model 369D
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number --
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name --
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? --
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? --
Operator Street Address PO Box 6104
Operator City Rotorua
Operator State --
Operator Country NZ
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board --
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Rotorua
Departure State --
Departure Country NZ
Departure Time 1600
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 Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 19 2002 4:14PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --