Hughes MDL-369HS accident near Brinkley, Arkansas, September 12, 1997
On September 12, 1997 at about 11:15 pm local time, a Hughes MDL-369HS (helicopter), registered N107CW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Brinkley, Arkansas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The in flight collision of the tail rotor blade with an object that had a brass zipper on it, and the subsequent overload and failure of the tail rotor drive shaft. Factors were the object with the brass zipper on it and the unsuitable terrain for the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 12, 1997 · about 11:15 pm local time
- Place
- Brinkley, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hughes MDL-369HS
- Registration
- N107CW · no longer on the register · serial 640610S
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was transporting a television crew to several high school football games. He had removed the left rear door of the aircraft to facilitate aerial photography of the games. The helicopter was in cruise flight at approximately 500 feet agl when the pilot heard a loud bang and the aircraft made a right yaw. The pilot said that movement of the directional control pedals was ineffective. He made a run-on landing, but the helicopter impacted two levees separating the right skid from the aircraft. The aircraft rotated to the right and came to a stop upright. Postcrash examination revealed that the tail rotor drive shaft had separated near its mid point. One of the tail rotor blades had seven small indentations (similar to a zipper) on one eighth inch centers near the tip of the blade. He reported that the 'three outboard marks on the top of the blade also exhibited span-wise streaks with a brass like appearance, which may be transferred metal.' Tests by the aircraft's manufacturer revealed the material transferred to the tail rotor blade leading edge was brass. None of the passengers remembered losing any personal items during the flight.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: balloon; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 18,000 hours in all; 250 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 17,900 as pilot in command; 3,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,700 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 24, 1997; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C18A (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Mid South Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: NONE AR at 11:00 pm
- Destination: NONE Mariana AR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:14 pm from SGT, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.