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| Date: | Tuesday 17 September 2019 |
| Time: | 12:30 LT |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 Astro |
| Owner/operator: | Rowland Air Chem LLC |
| Registration: | N827JE |
| MSN: | 0153 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1995 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3700 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540-F1B5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Burke County northwest of Sardis, Burk County, GA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Sardis, GA |
| Sardis, GA | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter was about 100 ft above ground level during an aerial application fight when the engine experienced a partial loss of power. The pilot performed an autorotation and the helicopter impacted trees and terrain.
Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the crankshaft idler gear flange, which should have been secured to the left half of the crankcase by a bolt and stud, had separated from its mounting location. Worn fragments of the bolt and stud were recovered from the oil sump. Metallurgical examination of the fasteners revealed that they failed due to rotating bending fatigue, which allowed the crankshaft idler gear to disengage and resulted in a loss of engine power. A review of maintenance records revealed that the engine had been in service for about 20 years and 1,900 operating hours since its last major overhaul, which is 8 years and 400 hours beyond the manufacturer recommended time between overhauls.
Probable Cause: Fatigue failure of the fasteners on the engine crankshaft, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power and a subsequent forced landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
FAA register: https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=827JE
NTSB ERA19LA273
Location
Images:
Photo: FAA
Media:
Burke County Sheriff’s Office and EMA responding to a helicopter crash off of Benjamin Road in Sardis. They say the pilot was the only person aboard and suffered minor injuries. pic.twitter.com/jCTgKpPkwN
— John Hart (@JohnHartWJBF) September 17, 2019
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Sep-2019 01:48 | Geno | Added |
| 18-Sep-2019 01:58 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 18-Sep-2019 10:03 | harro | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 18-Sep-2019 13:52 | harro | Updated [Registration, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 18-Sep-2019 19:30 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 27-Mar-2021 06:57 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
| 27-Mar-2021 07:32 | harro | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative, Photo, ] |
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