ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 167017
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 June 2014 |
| Time: | 12:05 |
| Type: |  Schweizer 269C-1 |
| Owner/operator: | Ace Pilot Training |
| Registration: | N152CC |
| MSN: | 0144 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2002 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3345 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming HIO-360-G1A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Lehigh Valley International Airport (KABE), Allentown, PA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Standing |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Allentown, PA (ABE) |
| Allentown, PA (ABE) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The student pilot landed the helicopter after a 40-minute flight and started the engine shut down procedures. She stated that she applied the collective friction and started the timer, running the engine at 2,500 rpm for a cool-down period. She turned off the fuel boost pump and radios and referred to the checklist to ensure she had completed the proper items. She then engaged the collective friction and was tightening the cyclic friction at the cyclic base when the helicopter developed ground resonance. The student pilot could not get the helicopter airborne with the collective friction engaged, so she rolled the throttle to idle. The resonance continued to increase and, “in a matter of seconds, the helicopter shook itself apart.”
The helicopter had four poppet-type, nitrogen-charged hydraulic units (dampers) in the landing gear assembly to reduce landing shock and help prevent ground resonance. The four dampers were removed from the helicopter and pressure tested; all four failed to meet manufacturer’s specifications. Without the airframe protection provided by the dampers, oscillations occurred that resulted in the helicopter rocking on its landing gear and the tailboom twisting toward the right side of the helicopter where it joined the main structure.
Maintenance instructions noted that the landing gear dampers would experience a decrease in pressure with helicopter usage and required that they be extension-checked during each 100-hour inspection or every 6 months, whichever occurred first. The helicopter’s most recent 100-hour inspection occurred about 2 months before the accident, and it had been operated 58 hours since the inspection. Review of maintenance records for the most recent 100-hour inspection and about 800 flight hours before the accident revealed no mention of any maintenance actions involving the dampers.
Probable Cause: Inadequate inspection and maintenance of the helicopter’s landing gear dampers, which resulted in ground resonance during helicopter shutdown.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=152CC
Location
Media:
On scene of a Helicopter crash at Lehigh Valley International Airport... pic.twitter.com/ikiq7xxQf3
— NVP Alerts (@NVPAlerts) June 17, 2014Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jun-2014 17:31 | gerard57 | Added |
| 17-Jun-2014 17:32 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 17-Jun-2014 18:54 | Geno | Updated [Registration, Cn, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 17-Jun-2014 18:55 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 18-Jun-2014 05:28 | harro | Updated [Embed code] |
| 26-Aug-2014 04:14 | Aerosurance | Updated [Phase, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 05-May-2017 18:58 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Narrative] |
| 19-Aug-2017 14:55 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
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