ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 40788
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| Date: | Monday 27 March 2000 |
| Time: | 07:40 |
| Type: |  Hughes 269C |
| Owner/operator: | U.S. Department of Agriculture APHIS |
| Registration: | N1110N |
| MSN: | 611064 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4027 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming HIO-360-D1A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Del Rio, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
According to the ground crew, there were no witnesses to the accident. Five minutes after initial radio contact with the helicopter in preparation for a coyote eradication mission, contact was lost. The wreckage was found about 2-miles from its launch point. The wreckage revealed signs of a high rate of descent terrain collision with low or no engine and rotor speed. On-site and subsequent examination of the rotorcraft's engine, engine components, transmission, clutch, main and tail rotor drive trains, and flight controls revealed no mechanical malfunction or failure. A spent shotgun shell was found lying loose under the seat panel that possessed a crush mark that appeared to fit between two crushing surfaces, namely, the throttle bell crank and the coorelator assembly for the right seat where the right collective control column had been removed. The jam scenario was simulated numerous and separate times with an undamaged HU-269C and identical spent shotgun shells, both by the USDA accident investigator and the NTSB investigator. It was determined the jam only interfered with throttle action toward the decrease power setting and was easily overpowered by a stronger twisting action.
Probable Cause: An in-flight loss of control while maneuvering for undetermined reasons resulting in an in-flight collision with terrain. A factor in the accident was the in-flight loss of engine power and rotor rpm.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001212X20690&key=1
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 12-Dec-2017 18:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Nov-2022 02:10 | Ron Averes | Updated [Operator] |
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