Eurocopter AS350BA accident near Hana, Hawaii, January 10, 2006
On January 10, 2006 at about 6:45 pm local time, a Eurocopter AS350BA (helicopter), registered N3607P, was destroyed in an accident near Hana, Hawaii (Kahului airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured and 4 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The total loss of engine power due to a fatigue failure of a turbine blade. A factor in the accident was the lack of a suitable forced landing site.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 10, 2006 · about 6:45 pm local time
- Place
- Hana, Hawaii · Kahului · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 4 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter AS350BA · all AS350BAs on the register
- Registration
- N3607P · no longer on the register · serial 1249
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While flying a sightseeing tour over a dense tropical forest the helicopter experienced a total loss of engine power and autorotated into the forest canopy. Forty-four minutes into a 1-hour sightseeing tour the helicopter vibrated, shuddered, and the low rotor rpm warning horn sounded. The pilot entered an autorotation and tried to arrest the helicopter's forward velocity before settling into the treetops. The helicopter dropped nose first towards the forest floor, and came to rest on its right side suspended in the trees a few feet from the ground. During the subsequent engine examination it was determined that a turbine blade from the second stage gas producer turbine had separated from the turbine wheel. A material laboratory analysis determined that the turbine blade failure was a result of a fatigue fracture that was initiated at a corrosion/oxidation pit. As a result of the investigation into the engine failure, the engine manufacturer has reduced the life limit of the second stage turbine blades from 6,000 hours to 3,000 hours, and implemented additional turbine inspection criteria.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 17,350 hours in all; 5,920 in this make and model; 260 in the last 90 days; 98 in the last 30 days; 17,350 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: April 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,007 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 1, 2005
- Maximum gross weight: 4,630 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca Arriel 1B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KOGG Kahului HI at 6:07 pm
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 6:58 pm from PHHN, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.