Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Burns, Oregon 97720
Monday, August 12, 2013 14:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On August 12, 2013, about 1400 Pacific daylight time, a McDonnell Douglas Helicopter 369E, N62PJ, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Burns, Oregon. The helicopter was registered to and operated by PJ Helicopters, Red Bluff, California, as a public use flight. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that originated from a staging area about 1245. The pilot reported that during cruise flight at an altitude of about 400 feet above ground level over mountainous terrain, he heard a loud bang originate from the engine followed by an immediate loss of engine power. The pilot performed a 180-degree autorotation and landed hard on a forest service logging road. Examination of the helicopter by the pilot revealed that the tailboom was separated and the left landing skid was separated. The helicopter was recovered to a secure location for further examination.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/12/2013
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Burns
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97720
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
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 1353 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 199
Weather Observation Facility ID BNO
Elevation of weather observation facility 4159
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
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) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KBNO 122053Z AUTO VRB04KT 10SM CLR 29/03 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) --
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 20 2013 11:48AM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N62PJ
NTSB Number WPR13GA374
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Public Use
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name MCDONNELL DOUGLAS HELICOPTER
Aircraft Model 369E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0535E
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name P J HELICOPTERS
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City RED BLUFF
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 96080
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name P J HELICOPTERS
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City RED BLUFF
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 96080
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
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 Burns
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1245
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Burns
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 20 2013 11:49AM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --