ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 39408
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Date: | Tuesday 10 August 1993 |
Time: | 18:06 |
Type: | Robinson R22 Beta |
Owner/operator: | Offshore Helicopters |
Registration: | N4017J |
MSN: | 1443 |
Year of manufacture: | 1990 |
Total airframe hrs: | 1816 hours |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | Sea 8 mi SE of Honolulu, Oahu, HI -
United States of America
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Private |
Departure airport: | Lanai, HI (LNY) |
Destination airport: | |
Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:On August 10, 1993, about 18:06 HST (Hawaiian Standard Time), N4017J, a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter, crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 8 miles southeast of Honolulu, Hawaii, during an intended pleasure flight. The airline transport pilot and his wife were killed. The pilot had logged 4,350 total flight hours and 140 hours in helicopters, all in the R22.
An endorsement in his logbook indicated that the pilot had successfully completed the Robinson Helicopter Company Safety Course and biennial flight review in Torrance, California, on March 12, 1993. According to a CFI who had instructed him, the pilot was proficient with emergency procedures in the R22.
A witness kayaking in the ocean approximately 1/4 mile offshore indicated that the helicopter "appeared to be operating properly when all of a sudden it went down into the water." Another witness located aboard a catamaran said he saw "the front rotor blades' shaft bend toward the right side of the helicopter" and hit the helicopter body. The helicopter crashed into the water 50 to 75 feet from the catamaran.
The last recorded radar data showed N4017J at an altitude of 500 feet above the ocean, 1/4 mile off the southeast coast of Oahu, and the radar track indicated that it was cruising at about 90 knots just before radar contact was lost.
Examination of the retrieved wreckage revealed that one main rotor blade was bent downward and had entered the left forward section of the cockpit. The main rotor hub exhibited deep gouges where the droop stop tusks contacted the hub; the droop stop tusks were sheared.
The upper transmission and lower mast remained intact; however, the upper main rotor shaft was bent approximately 30 degrees, consistent with an aerodynamically divergent blade striking the body of the helicopter during powered flight.
The NTSB determined that the probable cause of this accident was a divergence of the main rotor from its normal plane of rotation for an undermined reason, which resulted in rotor contact with the airframe.
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: LAX93FA318 at
https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001211X13165 2. CAA:
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=4017J
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
4 April 1992 |
N4071J |
Civic Helicopters, Inc. |
0 |
Carlsbad, CA |
|
sub |
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
24-Oct-2008 10:30 |
ASN archive |
Added |
25-May-2016 15:09 |
Dr.John Smith |
Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative] |
21-Dec-2016 19:23 |
ASN Update Bot |
Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
15-Jun-2023 04:29 |
Ron Averes |
Updated [[Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]] |
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