Hilo International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Monday, October 2, 2006 9:30 HST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The lateral cyclic friction was on prior to departure, and the helicopter landed hard shortly after takeoff. After the pilot's first flight, the helicopter underwent a hot refueling and the passengers were loaded onboard for the pilot's second flight. The pilot performed her pretakeoff checklist items, which included releasing the control frictions and performing a freedom of control check. The pilot then demonstrated to the front seat passengers where to position their feet by bringing her right foot aft. She then obtained tower clearance and began the takeoff. During the takeoff, the cyclic was locked and she could not move it. She attempted to control the helicopter using trim but shortly thereafter, the helicopter impacted the ground. Upon impact, the pilot reached down and released the lateral cyclic friction. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the lateral cyclic friction system installation and operation and noted no mechanical anomalies. The FAA inspector did note that if he brought one foot farther aft than is done in normal operation, an inadvertent application of the lateral cyclic friction might result.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Inadvertent application of the lateral cyclic friction, which resulted in a loss of control and subsequent hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/2/2006
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Hawaii Standard Time
Event City Hilo
Event State HAWAII
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96720
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 194313N
Event Location Longitude 1550254W
Event Location Airport Hilo International Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ITO
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 38
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Hawaii Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID ITO
Elevation of weather observation facility 38
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation HST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4100
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 20
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21321
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Oct 2 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2007 2:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-HNL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N142MK
NTSB Number LAX07LA002
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name McDonnell Douglas
Aircraft Model 369E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0187E
Certified Max Gross Weight 3000
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 5
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Sep 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 21
Airframe Hours 9860
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name K and S Helicopters, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO Box 5371
Aircraft Owner City Kailua-Kona
Aircraft Owner State HI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 96745
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 16SG
Owner has at least one certificate --
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code ITO
Departure City Hilo
Departure State HI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 930
Departure Time Zone HST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code ITO
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 14 2007 2:46PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight Yes
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --