Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Bonners Ferry, Idaho 83805
Monday, August 18, 2008 16:30 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was assigned to pick up three firefighters and their gear from a mountain site and he completed load calculations prior to the flight. The pilot had planned for hover in ground effect performance, although the terrain in the area was sloped and contained vegetation and rocks. As he flew into the area, the pilot assessed the winds and noted that they were coming from the south from 5 to 7 knots. He landed into the wind, picked up the passengers, and stabilized the helicopter in a 3 to 4-foot hover to verify the power. He departed into the wind and began a slow steady climb to clear trees. The helicopter then began to descend toward the trees. The pilot applied additional power but could not stop the descent. He then force-landed the helicopter on downed trees and stumps. During the accident sequence, the tail rotor drive shaft sheared. After exiting the helicopter, the pilot noted that the winds had shifted. The passengers said the winds had been shifting prior to the pilot's arrival. There were no mechanical malfunctions reported with the helicopter. Review of the pilot’s duty time showed that he had worked in excess of the contract requirements, and may have been fatigued. Post accident review of the loaded weight of the helicopter revealed that it exceeded the load limits for the operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning for the takeoff and the helicopter loading that exceeded the lift performance capability of the helicopter.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/18/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1630 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Bonners Ferry |
| Event State | IDAHO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 83805 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 485130N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1163030W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1650 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SZT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2131 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| 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) | 35 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 14 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| 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 | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25677 |
| NTSB Notification Source | USFS |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 18 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 30 2009 12:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-Spokane-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N622PB |
| NTSB Number | SEA08TA188 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Public Use |
| 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 | HUGHES |
| Aircraft Model | 369D |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 880318D |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 15 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 8 |
| Airframe Hours | 12699 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Panhandle Helicopter, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO Box 934 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Post Falls |
| Aircraft Owner State | ID |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 83854 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | United States Forest Service |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | PO Box 7669 |
| Operator City | Missoula |
| Operator State | MT |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 59807 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure City | Bonners Ferry |
| Departure State | ID |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1640 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Bonners Ferry |
| Destination State | ID |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 27 2009 10:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | lema |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |