Boeing Helicopters Div. 369D accident near Inverness, Mississippi, February 23, 2001
On February 23, 2001 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Boeing Helicopters Div. 369D, registered N58377, was involved in an accident near Inverness, Mississippi (Indianola airport). It was an other work-use flight under external-load helicopter rules (Part 133). 1 person was killed; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The lineman's failure to use the designed attachment point for securing his safety harness to the helicopter, resulting in overload and failure of the component he did attach to. A factor in the accident was the lineman's failure to follow exact sequential procedures for performing the in-flight transfer from rotorcraft to structure, resulting in his being dragged off the structure by the retreating rotorcraft.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 23, 2001 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Inverness, Mississippi · Indianola · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing Helicopters Div. 369D
- Registration
- N58377 · no longer on the register · serial 1290646D
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Other work-use flight · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The helicopter is configured with an external horizontal platform mounted adjacent to the left loading door, between the fuselage and the skids, for use during in-flight transfer of a lineman from aircraft to structure during inspections of high tension transmission line supports. The exact procedures for the in-flight lineman transfer call for the helicopter-to-structure static electricity grounding cable to be clamped to the structure prior to the actual transfer. By design, the ground cable clamping is the very first procedural task and the unclamping is the very last procedural task. When the pilot sees the cable and clamp returned to its holding pouch on the platform, that is his cue to back the helicopter away from the structure. In this particular occurrence, the procedural tasks got out of sequence, and when the pilot saw the ground cable and clamp in its pouch, he backed the rotorcraft away. The lineman, still tethered to the rotorcraft, was pulled off the structure, and the lineman's choice of safety tether attachment point on the rotorcraft gave way under his weight, causing the fatal fall.
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: instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,090 hours in all; 940 in this make and model; 135 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 4,610 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 22, 1999
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,683.4 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 9, 2000; 87.5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250C20B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air #2, LLC
The flight
- Departed from: Lz 397 MS at 5:30 pm
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft; scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observation at 7:50 pm from GLH, 22 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.