Summary
On October 08, 1999, a Mcdonnell Douglas 369E (N991SD) was involved in an incident near Moreno Valley, CA. All 3 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The failure of the pilot to maintain sufficient forward airspeed to preclude an inadvertent encounter with loss of tail rotor effectiveness, which resulted in a loss of yaw control. The pilot's failure to initiate timely remedial action is a factor.
On October 7, 1999, at 2005 hours Pacific daylight time, a McDonnell Douglas 369E helicopter, N991SD, was substantially damaged during a forced landing at Moreno Valley, California, following an in-flight loss of directional control. The commercial pilot and two observer crewmembers were not injured. The helicopter was operated by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a public-use aircraft.
This incident is documented in NTSB report LAX00TA006. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N991SD.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The failure of the pilot to maintain sufficient forward airspeed to preclude an inadvertent encounter with loss of tail rotor effectiveness, which resulted in a loss of yaw control. The pilot's failure to initiate timely remedial action is a factor.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
On October 7, 1999, at 2005 hours Pacific daylight time, a McDonnell Douglas 369E helicopter, N991SD, was substantially damaged during a forced landing at Moreno Valley, California, following an in-flight loss of directional control. The commercial pilot and two observer crewmembers were not injured. The helicopter was operated by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 as a public-use aircraft. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local area patrol flight, which originated from Hemet, California, at 1950.
According to the Sheriff's Department report, it was a dark night and the winds aloft were northerly at 20 to 25 knots, at 500 feet agl, as the pilot orbited over ground based law enforcement activity. In accordance with department operating procedures, the pilot had identified a school athletic field as a suitable emergency landing site. He was attempting to shine the helicopter's spotlight on a vehicle; however, the northerly wind kept blowing the aircraft well south of the location on each of the first two orbits. On the third orbit, he inadvertently allowed the helicopter to slow below translational lift speed and the helicopter yawed 180 degrees to the right uncontrollably. The pilot momentarily recovered directional control of the helicopter but then the right yaw resumed. He made several more attempts to recover directional control of the helicopter but when he saw the altitude becoming low, he flew to the pre-selected landing zone where the helicopter landed hard while in a right yawing spin. During the landing the main rotor blades severed the tail boom and the helicopter came to rest on its right side.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# LAX00TA006