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| Date: | Tuesday 16 July 2024 |
| Time: | 00:55 |
| Type: |  MD Helicopters MD 600N |
| Owner/operator: | Last Shadow |
| Registration: | N609RP |
| MSN: | RN009 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1997 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Eagle Lake, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Aerial patrol |
| Departure airport: | Eagle Lake, TX |
| Eagle Lake, TX | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On July 16, 2024, at 0055 central daylight time, a McDonnell Douglas Helicopter 600N, N609RP, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Eagle Lake, Texas. The commercial pilot was uninjured, one passenger received serious injuries, and four passengers received minor injuries. The helicopter was operated as a public use flight for law enforcement training.
The operator was providing flight services to law enforcement for training purposes at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that during the last flight of the evening, he flew the helicopter at a low altitude and at a low airspeed when the helicopter exhibited low rotor rpm. The helicopter lost partial engine power, and the pilot performed a forced landing.
Postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed the helicopter’s fuel system was incorrectly installed and drew fuel from the forward portion of the left fuel cell, allowing air to be drawn into the fuel system when the fuel level reached an unsustainable level for engine operation. A correct installation of the fuel system would have had fuel being drawn from the aft portion of the left fuel tanks, which had about 19.5 gallons of fuel available.
Maintenance entries showed that the pilot, who was also a mechanic, performed recent maintenance within the left fuel cell and such maintenance would have required the pilot to remove and visually inspect the fuel system components within the left fuel cell that were found to be improperly installed. The improper installation resulted in the fuel system not scavenging the available fuel from the aft portion of the left fuel cell.
Probable Cause: The operator’s improper installation of the fuel system, which resulted in fuel starvation, a loss of engine power, and impact with terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/07/16/4-harris-county-swat-members-along-with-pilot-hospitalized-following-helicopter-crash-in-eagle-lake/
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/hcso-swat-helicopter-hard-landing-eagle-lake-texas/285-85218f02-f259-4532-bbc2-faceaaa49279
https://abc13.com/post/harris-county-sheriffs-swat-members-injured-helicopter-training/15062923/
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194714
Location
Images:
Photo: FAA
Media:
First look at the helicopter that hard landed/crashed during a nighttime Harris County SWAT training session in Eagle Lake, TX. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says a pilot and 4 Harris County swat team members were injured. Images from KHOU Air 11. #khou11 pic.twitter.com/VJEVcWP5Qp
— The Bishop (@BillBishopKHOU) July 16, 2024
instructor and pilot were in a helicopter when it made what has been described as a hard landing/crash, for reasons yet to be determined. All passengers were injured, but none of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening. Our members were treated at a local
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) July 16, 2024
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jul-2024 13:36 | Anon. | Added |
| 17-Jul-2024 13:38 | ASN | Updated [Cn, Operator, Damage, Plane category, ] |
| 17-Jul-2024 15:06 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Nature, Embed code, ] |
| 17-Jul-2024 15:08 | Aerossurance | Updated [Total occupants, Embed code, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 17-Jul-2024 15:08 | Aerossurance | Updated |
| 20-Jul-2024 16:02 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 06-Aug-2024 18:36 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
| 28-Feb-2025 13:44 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative, Photo, ] |
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