Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Albuquerque International Sunp Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106
Saturday, August 6, 2005 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The helicopter was supporting police officers on the ground, who were attempting to locate a burglary suspect. The pilot and observer were wearing night vision goggles. The pilot established an orbit over the area approximately 400 feet agl. On about the fifth orbit, the crew heard a very loud noise originating from inside the helicopter. The pilot stated that he did not know what happened but knew there was an emergency. The helicopter shook and began to turn right. The pilot immediately lowered the collective and entered autorotation. The pilot flared and the helicopter impacted terrain in the backyard of a residence. Post accident examination revealed a .30-.06 rifle bullet (fired from a high-powered rifle) severed the left anti-torque pedal at the connecting point of the vertical control tube. The bullet then ricocheted into the pilot's leg. An engine inspection revealed no anomalies that would preclude the engine from developing power.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the bullet(s), which severed the helicopter's left tail rotor pedal. Contributing factors were the severed anti-torque pedal and the unsuitable terrain for landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/6/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 45 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Albuquerque |
| Event State | NEW MEXICO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 87106 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 351126N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1044057W |
| Event Location Airport | Albuquerque International Sunp |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ABQ |
| 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 | 5355 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 56 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ABQ |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 5355 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 12000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 8000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| 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) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 90 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.35 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 19158 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Ctr |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 8 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 28 2006 12:35PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N500SD |
| NTSB Number | DEN05TA119 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | In-flight |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Hughes |
| Aircraft Model | 369HS |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1160870S |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2550 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 32 |
| Airframe Hours | 6379 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Albuquerque |
| Aircraft Owner State | NM |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 87102 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Christopher Holland |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 400 Roma Blvd., N.W. |
| Operator City | Albuquerque |
| Operator State | NM |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 87102 |
| 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) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | ABQ |
| Departure City | Albequerque |
| Departure State | NM |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 2245 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | ABQ |
| Destination City | Albequerque |
| Destination State | NM |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Hover - out of ground effect |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 16 2005 10:17AM |
| User who most recently changed record | MCBM |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |