N22490

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 21, 2013, about 1150 mountain standard time, a Bell UH-1V helicopter, N22490, was destroyed when it impacted the ground near Cordes Lakes, Arizona, following the in-flight separation of the main rotor hub and blade assembly. The owner/pilot and the non-pilot rated passenger were fatally injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight plan was filed for the flight.

The helicopter was based at Scottsdale airport (SDL), Scottsdale, Arizona, and reportedly departed SDL the morning of the accident. According to witnesses, the helicopter landed at Sedona airport (SEZ), Sedona, Arizona, that morning, where a fly-in and aircraft exhibition event was being held. SEZ was located approximately 75 nautical miles (nm) north of SDL. The pilot and passenger re-boarded the helicopter about 2 hours later, and departed SEZ. On departure, the helicopter first air-taxied along runway 3, which was approximately downwind, about 100 feet above ground level. It was then observed to make a course reversal near the end of the runway, and flew along runway 21 before departing the area. A short time later, eyewitnesses who were located about 30 miles south-southwest of SEZ observed the airborne helicopter "explode" near them, and telephoned 911 to report the accident.

A partial radar track associated with the helicopter indicated that the first target was acquired about 1138, at an indicated altitude of 6,500 feet. That target was located about 12 miles from SEZ, on a magnetic bearing of 197 degrees. The last radar target associated with the helicopter was recorded about 1150, at an indicated altitude of 5,700 feet. That final target was approximately coincident with the wreckage location.

The wreckage was distributed for a distance of about 1/2 mile along the flight path. FAA and Honeywell personnel responded to the accident site on the afternoon of the accident, and began mapping the debris field. The following day the NTSB investigator arrived, the team completed the on-scene mapping and examination, and the wreckage was recovered to a secure facility for detailed examination.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with airplane single- and multi-engine land ratings, and was issued a rotorcraft helicopter rating in May 2013. On his most recent application for an FAA medical certificate, the pilot reported that he had 1,856 total hours of flight experience. His helicopter flight training and flight examination were conducted in a Hughes 269 helicopter.

Portions of the pilot's flight log were recovered in the wreckage, and partially-completed helicopter flight logs were recovered from the pilot's hangar. Review of the available records indicated that the pilot had purchased the helicopter in Texas in April 2013. He reportedly received 1 to 2 hours of instruction in the helicopter while it was in Texas, but this was not able to be confirmed by the investigation. The pilot then flew the helicopter to his home base in Arizona, in a trip that consisted of 7 legs and 9.6 flight hours. On that trip, the pilot was accompanied by a rotorcraft instructor who had no prior experience in the UH-1 or any of its variants.

In the period between the delivery trip and early May, 2013, the pilot conducted 5 flights in the helicopter with two other, different instructors, one of whom was his flight examiner for his rotorcraft rating. Those flights had a total duration of 8.3 hours. The records indicated that subsequent to that, the pilot completed 12 additional flights, with a total duration of 13.4 hours, in the helicopter but without an instructor. Several of the flight entries did not have dates associated with them. The last dated flight entry in the helicopter was for a flight on August 4, 2013. That entry was followed by two undated ones for two more flights, the last of which was to Payson, Arizona. The last entry that was dated in the pilot's flight log was for a flight on August 15. The duration was 1.0 hours, but the flight location/destination was indecipherable.

The pilot's helicopter flight examiner stated that the pilot had purchased the UH-1 prior to his completion of his helicopter rating. The examiner estimated that the pilot had less than 100 hours of helicopter flight experience at the time of the accident. Compilation of all available records indicated that the pilot had a total flight experience of about 33 hour in the accident helicopter make and model.

The Yavapai County (Arizona) Office of the Medical Examiner (ME) autopsy report cited multiple blunt force trauma as the cause of death. The report cited a toxicology finding for ethanol of 1.470 mg/g, which is a weight per unit weight parameter. The laboratory that conducted the toxicology determination was located in Indiana. The investigation was unable to determine how the samples were packed, how long they were in transit, and under what temperature conditions; without such information the possibility of putrefaction, and resultant ethanol production, could not be quantified. Except for caffeine and nicotine, all other Yavapai County ME toxicology findings were negative.

The FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) conducted forensic toxicology examinations on specimens from the pilot, and reported that no carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol, or any screened drugs were detected. The CAMI cutoff level for ethanol was 10 mg/dL, which is a weight per unit volume parameter.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The helicopter was manufactured in 1974. It was equipped with a Lycoming/Honeywell T-53 series turboshaft engine, and was originally delivered to the United States (US) Army. The helicopter was equipped with a two-blade teetering main rotor (MR) system, and a two-blade tail rotor (TR) system. For reference and maintenance purposes, the two blades and their control components in each rotor system were differentiated by arbitrarily assigning them color names, in this case "Red" and "White;" both the MR and TR systems each had one Red and one White blade.

In 2001, the helicopter was transferred to the civil registry as surplus equipment, to a non-profit agency in Texas. In 2004, the helicopter was transferred to the Marine Aviation Museum in Texas, and was sold to JR Helicopter in 2012, which sold it to the accident pilot in April 2013.

According to Bell records, the helicopter was delivered as a UH-1H. The US Army converted it to a medical configuration, UH-1V. At some point the helicopter was again modified, back to a UH-1H configuration, but the civil registry did not reflect that; it remained registered as a UH-1V. In March 2013, JR Helicopter unsuccessfully requested that the FAA alter the registration to designate it as a UH-1H model.

On May 6, 2013, the pilot submitted his application to the FAA for the special airworthiness certificate. The FAA registered the helicopter to the pilot in the "Experimental" class, "Exhibition" category in July 2013. FAA representatives at the Scottsdale, Arizona Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) reported that the Phase II limitations issued by the Houston FSDO on March 28, 2013, remained in effect after the transfer of ownership to the accident pilot.

Review of the maintenance records that were obtained by the investigation indicated that that the most recent annual condition inspection was completed on April 20, 2013. That inspection was signed off by the seller of the helicopter, and stated that the helicopter was in "a safe operational condition for continued use." The records indicated that at the time of that inspection, the helicopter had a total time in service of just over 3,664 hours. The most recent airworthiness directive (AD) compliance list for the helicopter was dated December 26, 2006, but that list was annotated to indicate that it was re-validated on December 22, 2008.

Review of recovered flight log and maintenance records indicated that the helicopter had accumulated approximately 3,693 hours total time in service at the time of the accident.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The SEZ 1135 automated weather observation included winds from 230 degrees at 5 knots, gusting to 17 knots, visibility 10 miles, with clear skies. Review of available meteorological information indicated that winds aloft in the general vicinity of the accident location were from 210 degrees at 15 knots at 6,000 feet, and 220 degrees at 18 knots for 7,000 feet.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The helicopter debris trail was oriented along a magnetic track of about 160 degrees. The distance between the northernmost (earliest) and southernmost (last) items in the debris field was about 3,200 feet. However, the northernmost items were light, low-density, and high-drag items, which were more readily influenced by winds. The distance from the northernmost wreckage item not readily influenced by the wind to the southern end of the debris field was about 2,000 feet. The majority of the debris was arrayed in highly linear fashion, but the main rotor assembly, which included the two blades and the hub, was located about 600 feet east of the debris trail.

The debris trail included the cockpit windshields and doors, cabin sidewall, and cabin interior items. The majority of the helicopter, including the cockpit/cabin, engine, transmission, tail boom, and tail rotor assembly, was located in or near an impact crater at the southern end of the debris trail. No evidence of any pre-impact failures of the engine, reduction gearbox, transmission, or tail rotor drive assemblies was observed. No evidence of fire or a high-order explosion was observed on any components found in the debris trail, and the only evidence of fire was observed in and around the main impact crater.

The initial on-scene and post recovery examinations of the wreckage resulted in the fo...