Hiller FH-1100 accident near Abilene, Texas, September 6, 1986
On September 6, 1986 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Hiller FH-1100 (helicopter), registered N5068F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Abilene, Texas (Abilene airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 6, 1986 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Abilene, Texas · Abilene
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hiller FH-1100
- Registration
- N5068F · no longer on the register · serial 227
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS CONDUCTING SIGHT-SEEING FLTS FROM A RODEO/FAIRGROUND AREA. DURING A CRITICAL PART OF A TAKEOFF, A TAIL ROTOR BLADE SEPARATED & THE PLT LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL. HE ATTEMPTED AN AUTOROTATIVE LANDING. AFTER SPINNING AROUND ABOUT 3 TIMES, THE PLT PULLED FULL COLLECTIVE, JUST BEFORE THE HELICOPTER CRASHED, BUT IT WAS STILL BADLY DAMAGED. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT A TAIL ROTOR TENSION-TORSION (T-T) BAR ASSEMBLY, PN 24-55106, HAD FAILED WHERE THE ATTACHMENT BOLT GOES THRU THE T-T STRAPS. A METALLURGICAL EXAM REVEALED CHLORINE RICH DEPOSITS IN THE FRACTURE AREA. THE GREASE FROM THE T-T BAR CAVITY HAD DARKENED & THE CAVITY FOR THE OTHER SET OF T-T STRAPS CONTAINED A SMALL AMOUNT OF FLUID WITH AN UNPLEASANT ODOR. AN ANALYSIS OF THE GREASE REVEALED EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF CHLORINE. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT WATER & CHLORINE CONTAMINATION HAD RESULTED IN STRESS CORROSION & EVENTUAL FAILURE OF THE T-T BAR ASSEMBLY.
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: 4,870 hours in all; 236 in this make and model; 39 in the last 90 days; 4,315 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,530 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 22, 1986; 68 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,530 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C18 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: AB1
- Destination: AB1
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:54 pm from AB1, 3 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.
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.