Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Thomas, West Virginia 26292
Saturday, October 30, 2010 10:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot transitioned the helicopter to pick up three linemen who were working from the peak of a 100-foot-tall transmission tower. Before the linemen boarded the helicopter (two were in the helicopter and one was on the skid), they secured their equipment to the external load grappling hook suspended 50 feet below the helicopter. The pilot positioned the helicopter adjacent to the tower structure between the two sets of electrical conductors, with the grappling hook and the linemen's equipment suspended below. As the pilot attempted to maneuver the helicopter clear of the tower, it paused, and then began to shake before the helicopter contacted wires on the opposite end of the tower and impacted the ground under power. Both of the linemen who were seated in the helicopter before it impacted the ground incurred minor injuries; the lineman standing on the helicopter's skid was fatally injured. The pilot did not attempt to release the external load at any point during the accident sequence, and postaccident testing of the system revealed no anomalies. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the helicopter. Examination of the power transmission tower and external-load sling revealed evidence consistent with entanglement of the external load with the tower's structure. Immediate compliance with the operator's recommended procedure of jettisoning the external load in the event of an emergency (actual or perceived) would have provided an opportunity for the pilot to have prevented the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to clear the helicopter and its external load from surrounding structures and his failure to execute a timely release of the external load, which resulted in an inadvertent entanglement and collision with wires and terrain. Contributing to the lineman's fatal injury was his position outside of the helicopter during the accident.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/30/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1030 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Thomas |
| Event State | WEST VIRGINIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 26292 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 391202N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0793217W |
| 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 | 1051 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 220 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | EKN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1987 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 24 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| 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) | 5 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| 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) | 30.13 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | 2 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 4 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29376 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 1 2012 11:46AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N765WH |
| NTSB Number | ERA11FA042 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | MD HELICOPTERS INC |
| Aircraft Model | 369E |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0600E |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 23 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 31 |
| Airframe Hours | 393 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Winco Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 22300 Yellow Gate Lane NE |
| Aircraft Owner City | Aurora |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97002 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Winco Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 22300 Yellow Gate Lane NE |
| Operator City | Aurora |
| Operator State | OR |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 97002 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | External Load |
| 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) | External Load |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Thomas |
| Departure State | WV |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Thomas |
| Destination State | WV |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 12 2011 3:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| 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 | -- |