Pilot Debrief

MCDONNELL DOUGLAS HELICOPTER 369E near Jackson, KY — 2013-07-29

Final reportERA13TA341
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Date
2013-07-29
Location
Jackson, KY, USA
Aircraft
MCDONNELL DOUGLAS HELICOPTER 369E
Registration
N1608D
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Cruise

Probable cause

The helicopter pilot's inadvertent collision with an unmarked and uncharted utility wire of which he was unaware.

NTSB narrative

An unmarked and uncharted wire extended between two ridges, the last remaining wire of several that had provided utilities to a mine that was no longer in operation. The pilot did not see the wire and was flying the helicopter between the two ridges, about 500 feet above the valley floor, when the main rotor head contacted the utility wire. The pilot initiated an emergency descent but he had limited control of the helicopter, and it collided with the valley floor. A postcrash fire consumed the wreckage. Because the mine had been closed for a long time, no one had reported the utility wire to the Federal Aviation Administration for addition on the appropriate aeronautical chart.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Controlled flight into terrain
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have avoided flying between the ridges where the wire was located.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 5 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents5

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