Aerospatiale SA-319B accident near Valdez, Alaska, April 7, 2003
On April 7, 2003 at about 7:15 pm local time, a Aerospatiale SA-319B (helicopter), registered N119PH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Valdez, Alaska. It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's encounter with a ground resonance condition during the landing touchdown, which resulted in the shearing of a main rotor spacing cable bolt, and buckling of the tail boom.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 7, 2003 · about 7:15 pm local time
- Place
- Valdez, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale SA-319B
- Registration
- N119PH · registry record · serial 2119
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial certificated pilot was landing a wheel/ski-equipped helicopter at a remote spot on a snow-covered ridgeline, about 4,200 feet msl. The pilot said that as the landing gear wheels touched the ridgeline, the helicopter started to shake in ground resonance. He decided to lift off, and the vibration became severe. The pilot said he lowered the collective pitch control and began a descent toward lower terrain. During the descent, the pilot said the helicopter nearly became uncontrollable until he heard one of the main rotor spacing cables snap. The previous 3 per revolution vibrations smoothed out, and became a 1 per revolution vibration. The pilot landed the helicopter on a glacier moraine. After landing, the pilot discovered that the broken spacing cable damaged the inboard trailing edge of one main rotor blade. The tail boom assembly was buckled and torn at the bottom attach point to the fuselage. A postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed that an attaching bolt, used to secure the yellow blade spacing cable to the red blade rotor grip fitting, was missing and the yellow blade damper was compressed. The missing bolt from the spacing cable fitting has a hollow shaft design which enables the bolt to shear when excessively loaded. Under extreme unbalanced conditions, the separation of the spacing cable permits an unbalanced rotor blade additional horizontal movement. Following the accident, the main rotor dampers were sent to an overhaul facility by the operator's insurance company. The overhaul facility reported that examination of the dampers did not reveal any observed malfunction.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 17,800 hours in all; 933 in this make and model; 58 in the last 90 days; 41 in the last 30 days; 16,400 as pilot in command; 1,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 18, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,611 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, March 30, 2003; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,960 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca ASTAZOU XIV (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Performance Helicopters LLC.
The flight
- Departed from: Valdezq AK at 2:15 pm
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 115° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,500 ft; a few clouds at 4,300 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 12°F (-11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.31 inHg
- Observation at 2:15 pm from PAVD, 26 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N119PH the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.