ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 44039
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| Date: | Friday 18 August 2006 |
| Time: | 16:00 |
| Type: | Kaman HH-43F |
| Owner/operator: | Horizon Helicopters |
| Registration: | N559D |
| MSN: | 62-4514 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1962 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 8026 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming T53-L-13B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Metaline Falls, WA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | External load operation |
| Departure airport: | Metaline Falls, WA |
| Metaline Falls, WA | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot was about to release a load of logs onto a log pile from an altitude between 150 to 200 feet when ground crewmen heard an explosion, then observed the helicopter descend in a nose down attitude before impacting the log deck. An examination of the accident site by an FAA inspector revealed that all major portions of the helicopter were accounted for. A subsequent examination of the wreckage revealed a failure of the transmission's left-hand cross-shaft internal spline, which resulted in the loss of gearbox timing and subsequent in-flight blade contact and separation. Maintenance records revealed that the helicopter's transmission was overhauled on May 1, 2006; the time between the overhaul and the accident was 409.4 hours. An examination of the fractured transmission center housing was caused by two fatigue cracks, which were probably caused by severe cyclic stresses that resulted from repeated loading and unloading of logs.
Probable Cause: The failure of the left-hand cross-shaft input internal spline while the helicopter was in a hover, which resulted in the loss of gear box timing, in-flight blade contact and separation, and the subsequent loss of control and impact with a log deck.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20060824X01238&key=1
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 24 July 1992 | N90944 | Moseley Aviation, Inc. | 0 | Headquarters, ID | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 05-Dec-2017 09:20 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Other fatalities, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 09-May-2018 05:49 | Anon. | Updated [Nature] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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