Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Kahului Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Kahului, Maui, Hawaii 96732
Saturday, September 13, 2014 14:00 HST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, a cart that housed an auxiliary power unit was positioned near the helicopter and used to start its engine. After engine start, ground personnel did not remove the cart from the helipad. The pilot reported that shortly after lift off to a hover, to perform track and balance checks, the tail rotor struck the forward portion of the cart. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail boom and tail rotor. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the cart while hovering. Contributing to the accident was the failure of ground personnel to remove the cart from the helipad.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/13/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1400 |
| Event Time Zone | Hawaii Standard Time |
| Event City | Kahului, Maui |
| Event State | HAWAII |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 96732 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 205318N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1562601W |
| Event Location Airport | KAHULUI |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | OGG |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 196 |
| Airport Elevation | 54 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1354 Hawaii Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 198 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PHOG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 54 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | HST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 30 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 30 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.91 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR PHOG 132354Z 03015KT 10SM SCT030 SCT070 30/2 |
| 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) | 33452 |
| NTSB Notification Source | NTSB Regional Operations Cente |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 12 2014 11:07AM |
| User who most recently changed record | nixa |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N197BH |
| NTSB Number | WPR14CA375 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | EUROCOPTER |
| Aircraft Model | AS 350 B2 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | B2 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2666 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4960 |
| 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 | 7 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 8 2014 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 21743 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | C126 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | NEVADA HELICOPTER LEASING LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | HENDERSON |
| Aircraft Owner State | NV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 890148624 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | HAWAII HELICOPTERS INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Kahului |
| Operator State | HI |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 96732 |
| Operator Code | I2WA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | I2WA869K |
| 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) | Flight Test |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | OGG |
| Departure City | Kahului, Maui |
| Departure State | HI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1400 |
| Departure Time Zone | HST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | OGG |
| Destination City | Kahului, Maui |
| Destination State | HI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 20 2014 11:41AM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |