Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Ocala International-Jim Taylor Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ocala, Florida 34474
Saturday, October 10, 2009 20:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot stated that while on final approach for landing, at about 20 knots and 120 feet above ground level, he felt a "vibration" and the helicopter experienced a loss of engine and rotor rpm. The pilot stated that he lowered the collective for an immediate landing and heard the low-rotor warning horn during the descent. The helicopter experienced a hard landing and rotated to the left after touchdown. Once the helicopter settled, the pilot closed the throttle and exited the helicopter. Initial examination of the helicopter revealed no preimpact mechanical anomalies. The engine was then removed from the helicopter and the turbine governor was removed from the engine. As the turbine governor was removed from the engine, several rolling elements (balls) spilled from the governor and were not recovered. Disassembled portions of the governor were forwarded to the NTSB Materials laboratory and examination of the components revealed the lubricant used was consistent with what was prescribed by the manufacturer. Further examination revealed displacement of the governor driveshaft, deformation of a bearing seal, rotational damage on bearing lands and spacers, as well as spalling on rolling components of the governor. The damage was consistent with wear over an extended period, and neither the cause nor the sequence of wear and failure of the examined components could be determined. Examination of maintenance records revealed that the governor was in service 30 hours beyond its 2,000-hour time-before-overhaul (TBO) interval, but that under the military maintenance program by which the helicopter was maintained, TBO intervals could be adjusted plus or minus 75 hours to align with other scheduled maintenance. Examination of the manufacturer's Operator's Manual revealed that the loss of engine power occurred at an altitude that fell in the "avoid area" of the Height Velocity diagram. According to the manual, “Flight conducted within the avoid area of the chart (figure 9-3) exposes the helicopter to a high probability of damage despite the best efforts of the pilot."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The excessive wear and failure of engine governor components for undetermined reasons, which resulted in a loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/10/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 2045 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Ocala |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 34474 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 291013N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0821316W |
| Event Location Airport | Ocala International-Jim Taylor |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | OCF |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 89 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2035 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | OCF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 90 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| 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) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.03 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KOCF 110035Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 27/21 A30 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 27395 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern CROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 20 2010 12:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N911AF |
| NTSB Number | ERA10GA015 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Public Use |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | BELL |
| Aircraft Model | OH-58A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 71-20765 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3200 |
| 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 | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 27 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 78 |
| Airframe Hours | 8043 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | MARION COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | OCALA |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 34475 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | MARION COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | OCALA |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 34475 |
| 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) | Public Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | OCF |
| Departure City | Ocala |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | OCF |
| Destination City | Ocala |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 31 2010 10:19AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 7467 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |