Sud Aviation SA316B accident near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 17, 1983
On September 17, 1983 at about 2:41 pm local time, a Sud Aviation SA316B (helicopter), registered N72590, was destroyed in an accident near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 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 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 17, 1983 · about 2:41 pm local time
- Place
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Sud Aviation SA316B
- Registration
- N72590 · no longer on the register · serial 1509
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE HELICOPTER WAS ON A FLT TO TRANSPORT AN ACUTELY ILL PATIENT FROM ONE HOSPITAL TO ANOTHER. THE AIRCREW CONSISTED OF A PLT & TWO FLT NURSES. DURING ARRIVAL AT THE DESTINATION, THE PLT BEGAN AN APCH TO AN ATHLETIC FIELD THAT WAS SURROUNDED BY TALL BLDGS & A POWER LINE. THE PLT SAID THE APCH WAS MADE ON A SOUTHEASTERLY HEADING WITH THE WIND FROM 230 DEG AT 7 KTS. AT ABOUT 45 FT AGL WITH AN AIRSPEED OF APRX 25 KTS, TRANSLATIONAL LIFT WAS LOST & THE HELICOPTER YAWED LEFT. THE APPLICATION OF FULL RIGHT ANTI-TORQUE PEDAL FAILED TO STOP THE YAW. THE HELICOPTER TOUCHED DOWN IN A LEFT YAW & THE PLT APPLIED COLLECTIVE. IT BECAME AIRBORNE AGAIN, STILL IN A LEFT YAW, THEN THE NOSE GEAR STRUCK THE GROUND & THE ROTOR BLADES STRUCK A BRICK WALL OF A BUILDING ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE FIELD. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED NO PREIMPACT DESCREPANCIES. THE FLT NURSES REPORTED THAT THE APCH SEEMED HIGHER & FASTER THAN NORMAL. APRX 7 MI NNW AT PITTSBURG, PA, THE WIND WAS FROM 260 DEG AT 10 KTS. THE PLT HAD APRX 30 HRS WITH CLOCKWISE/FRENCH ROTOR SYS.
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, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,432 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 2,077 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,749 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 10, 1983; 24 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,850 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca ARTOUSTE IIIB (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Monogahela PA at 2:28 pm
- Destination: Pittsburgh PA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:00 pm from AGC, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N72590 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.