Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Hughes 369D, N369MH: Incident occurred May 21, 2019 -and- Accident occurred August 08, 2018 in Honolulu, Hawaii

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Honolulu, Hawaii 

Made precautionary landing. 

Schuman Carriage Company Ltd doing business as Magnum Helicopters

Date: 21-MAY-19
Time: 21:46:00Z
Regis#: N369MH
Aircraft Make: HUGHES
Aircraft Model: 369D
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: UNKNOWN
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: NONE
Activity: SIGHTSEEING
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
City: HONOLULU
State: HAWAII

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Honolulu, Hawaii
Boeing Helicopter; Mesa, Arizona
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter; Mesa, Arizona

Location: Honolulu, HI
Accident Number: WPR18LA221
Date & Time: 08/08/2018, 0920 HST
Registration: N369MH
Aircraft: Hughes 369
Injuries: 4 None
Flight Conducted Under:  Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter - Non-scheduled - Sightseeing 

On August 8, 2018, about 0920 Hawaii-Aleutian standard time, a Hughes 369D helicopter, N369MH, experienced a significant inflight vibration event, which resulted in the pilot executing an emergency landing to a school field in Honolulu, Hawaii. The commercial pilot and his 3 passengers were not injured. The helicopter was substantially damaged. The helicopter was registered to Schuman Carriage Company Ltd, and operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 136 air tour flight, doing business as Magnum Helicopters. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight. The flight originated from the operator's facility at Honolulu International Airport (HNL), Honolulu, Hawaii about 0909.

The helicopter was the lead aircraft in a two-helicopter flight that was proceeding east/southeast from HNL, approximately along the shoreline. According to the pilot, the helicopter was in cruise at an altitude of about 1,800 ft. when he felt "severe" vibrations and then heard a "loud bang," after which the helicopter began to shake "violently." The pilot lowered his collective control and entered a power-on autorotation, with the intent of landing the helicopter in a grassy clearing in a residential neighborhood. He radioed his colleague in the trailing helicopter regarding his intentions, and then advised his passengers of the same. The pilot reported that the vibrations caused the transponder to work free of its panel mount. He also stated that even small tail rotor pedal inputs significantly worsened the vibrations.

The pilot made a partial run-on landing onto the targeted clearing. He reported that on first contact, the helicopter bounced about a foot into the air, and that the remaining slide on the dry and rocky grass field was rougher than he expected. The helicopter came to a stop upright, and the pilot shut down the engine. After the rotor blades stopped their rotation, the pilot had the passengers exit the helicopter. The landing field was part of a public school grounds, and the pilot released the passengers to the care of the school staff, while he examined the helicopter, and coordinated with his company.

The landing site was situated about 13 miles east of HNL, and the event occurred about 11 minutes after the helicopter departed HNL. Both the departure location and the landing site were situated at an elevation of approximately sea level.

Contrary to applicable regulations, the operator recovered the helicopter back to its facility, and began disassembly for repair without NTSB or Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) knowledge or approval. More than a day after the event, the NTSB became aware of the operator's maintenance activity, and instructed the operator to cease that activity, because evaluation indicated that the helicopter had been substantially damaged, and that the helicopter was therefore now the subject of an NTSB accident investigation.

Photographs and descriptions provided to the NTSB indicated that multiple tail rotor blade and gearbox components had failed during in-flight operation. The helicopter and removed components were preserved for subsequent detailed examination by personnel from the NTSB and other agencies.

The pilot held commercial and flight instructor certificates with helicopter ratings. He reported that he had about 7,300 hours total flight experience, including about 2,400 hours in the accident helicopter make and model. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued in January 2018, and his most recent flight review was completed in March, 2018.

FAA records indicated that the helicopter was manufactured in 1978, and was equipped with a Rolls-Royce 250-C20B series turboshaft engine. The helicopter was registered to the operator in September 2012. Prior to that, the helicopter had been registered in Panama, Florida, Texas, and California. The operator reported that the helicopter had a total time (TT) in service of about 14,328 hours, and that the engine had a TT of about 17,176 hours. The helicopter's most recent 100-hour inspection was completed in January 2018.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Hughes
Registration: N369MH
Model/Series: 369 D
Aircraft Category: Helicopter
Amateur Built: No
Operator: Schuman Carriage Company Ltd
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Commercial Air Tour (136)
Operator Does Business As: Magnum Helicopter
Operator Designator Code: 

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: HNL, 10 ft msl
Observation Time: 1853 UTC
Distance from Accident Site: 13 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 28°C / 19°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Few / 2500 ft agl
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 14 knots / 21 knots, 20°
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility: 10 Miles
Altimeter Setting: 29.92 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: Company VFR
Departure Point: Honolulu, HI (HNL)
Destination: Honolulu, HI (HNL)

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 3 None
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 4 None
Latitude, Longitude:

2 comments:

  1. The preliminary report doesn't show the injuries that the pilot sustained, nor the alleged maint issues the company is being investigated for that led to the parts failing.

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  2. The NTSB final report describes "Serious maintainance discrepancies" which in plain language means that the company mechanics failed to either install and/or maintain the aircraft as required by the manufacturer to the letter. In the aviation world, failure in one small detail can cause catastrophic and cascading parts failures, which can then lead to damage to the aircraft and/or death to its occupants.
    The final NTSB report shows the pilot did an amazing job getting it safely to the ground with no loss of life.
    On board was the pilot, a "Make-a-wish" little girl, her older sister and their mother. All 4 survived and walked away. The preliminary NTSB report shows that the aircraft owner, Schuman aviation, moved the aircraft without permission of the NTSB which is a violation of federal law. The company received a monetary fine in addition to having to wait for the NTSB to inspect the aircraft. Upon arrival to the site, FAA representatives found some defective and/or damaged parts were conveniently not available since they had been thrown away, which again is in Violation of federal law.

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