Hughes 500D accident near Iliamna, Alaska, July 14, 2004
On July 14, 2004 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Hughes 500D (helicopter), registered CGVHG, was substantially damaged in an accident near Iliamna, Alaska. It was a business flight under external-load helicopter rules (Part 133). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The ground crew's failure to use proper procedures while securing a sling load to the helicopter, which resulted in foreign object damage to the helicopter's main rotor system while idling.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 14, 2004 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Iliamna, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hughes 500D
- Registration
- CGVHG · no longer on the register · serial 310916D
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial helicopter pilot reported the helicopter was sitting and running at flight-idle while he and two helpers prepared a sling load. He said he was climbing into the helicopter, and did not see the activity, but one of the helpers standing near the cargo door threw a rope to the other helper. He said the rope was inadvertently tossed into the main rotor system, and wrapped around the rotor head. The pilot indicated that the main rotor blades and rotor head received structural damage during the encounter with the rope.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,595 hours in all; 1,137 in this make and model; 408 in the last 90 days; 141 in the last 30 days; 1,450 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C20B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Prism Helicopters LTD
The flight
- Departed from: PAIL Iliamna AK at 11:00 am
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.
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.