Hughes 369D accident near Omak, Washington, July 22, 2007
On July 22, 2007, a Hughes 369D (helicopter), registered N69PF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Omak, Washington. It was a firefighting flight under public-use (government) rules. No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the surface of a pond that he was using as a water bucket refill site, which resulted in a tail rotor strike to the water's surface and a torsional overload failure of the tail rotor drive shaft.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 22, 2007
- Place
- Omak, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369D · all 369Ds on the register
- Registration
- N69PF · registry record · serial 1060012D
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Firefighting flight · public-use (government) rules
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the time of the accident, the pilot was descending into a hover over a pond that he was using for an aerial fire bucket refill site. As he began to level off in the hover, he heard a loud noise and felt an "accelerated vibration." Almost immediately thereafter, the helicopter began to spin to the right, so the pilot closed the throttle and made an autorotational landing in about three to four feet of water. A post-accident inspection of the helicopter revealed that the tail rotor driveshaft had failed in torsional overload, and that one of the tail rotor blades had experienced delaminating as a result of contact with the water over which the helicopter was hovering.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,029 hours in all; 3,700 in this make and model; 4,900 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,028 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, July 1, 2007; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250 C20B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: US Department Of The Interior
The flight
- Departed from: KOMK Omak WA at 11:00 pm
- Destination: KOMK
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.92 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number SEA07TA212.