Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Hubbard Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Woodburn, Oregon 97071
Monday, November 14, 2011 14:30 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was using the helicopter to lift bundles of Christmas trees from a field to a loading zone with a 25-foot-long steel line. Shortly after one of the bundles was picked up, it came apart and fell from the line. As the pilot repositioned the helicopter to reattach the bundle, the line became snagged on an obstacle on the ground. He immediately reached for the line release switch, but the line did not detach, likely because he did not make positive contact with the switch. Before he could activate the manual backup release switch, the helicopter pitched down, descended, and collided with terrain. Postaccident examination of the primary and backup release systems revealed no mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. Because the helicopter was no more than 25 feet above ground level when the line snagged, even a successful activation of the line release switch may not have prevented the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to maintain ground clearance while maneuvering with an external load line.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/14/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1430 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Woodburn |
| Event State | OREGON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 97071 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 450810n |
| Event Location Longitude | 1224924w |
| Event Location Airport | Hubbard |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 7S9 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 165 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 360 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KUAO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 200 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 6500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4600 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 10 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.08 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KUAO 142253Z AUTO 23004KT 10SM -RA FEW046 OV |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 30138 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 30 2012 8:11PM |
| User who most recently changed record | snyg |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N16HA |
| NTSB Number | WPR12LA036 |
| 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 | BELL |
| Aircraft Model | 206B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 3229 |
| 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 | 5 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 12 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 49 |
| Airframe Hours | 14404 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | APPLEBEE AVIATION INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | BANKS |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97106-0309 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | APPLEBEE AVIATION INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | BANKS |
| Operator State | OR |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 97106-0309 |
| Operator Code | Q97A |
| 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 | Q97A247L |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Oregon City |
| Departure State | OR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1230 |
| Departure Time Zone | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 7S9 |
| Destination City | Woodburn |
| Destination State | OR |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 13 2012 1:23PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| 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 | -- |