Mcdonnell Douglas Heli CO 369FF accident near Fossil, Oregon, October 12, 2009
On October 12, 2009 at about 3:50 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas Heli CO 369FF (helicopter), registered N527SH, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering (hover) near Fossil, Oregon. It was an external-load flight under external-load helicopter rules (Part 133). 1 person was killed. 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 a power pole to which he was connecting wire-pulling ropes.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 12, 2009 · about 3:50 pm local time
- Place
- Fossil, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas Heli CO 369FF · all 369FFs on the register
- Registration
- N527SH · no longer on the register · serial 0064FF
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- External-load flight · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the helicopter was pulling a rope along a line of wood power poles, and placing the rope within the lowest traveler (pulley) attached to each power pole. The placement of the rope into the traveler required maneuvering the helicopter in close proximity to the pole, while the rope was attached to a long-line that was shorter than the distance from the top of the pole to the traveler that the rope was being placed in. The pilot had already placed the rope in the traveler on the first pole of the line, and had just completed the placement of the rope into the traveler on the second pole, when he began to maneuver the helicopter in order to proceed to the next pole. At the beginning of that maneuver, the pilot inadvertently allowed the helicopter to come close enough to the pole that he had just finished working on for its main rotor blades to come in contact with the pole. Immediately thereafter, all five of the main rotor blades separated from the helicopter, whereupon the helicopter's tail boom separated from its fuselage. The helicopter then fell to the down-sloping terrain near the base of the pole. No pre-accident anomalies were found with the helicopter's airframe, engine, or flight control system.
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
What happened, in order
- Low altitude operation/event during maneuvering (hover) defining event
- External load event (Rotorcraft) during maneuvering (hover)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Pole › Contributed to outcome
- cause Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Pole › Response/compensation
- Environmental issues › Task environment › (general) › (general) › Effect on personnel
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,378 hours in all; 1,156 in this make and model; 146 in the last 90 days; 102 in the last 30 days; 1,259 as pilot in command; 77 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 18, 2009
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,883 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 15, 2009
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rolls-Royce 250-C30S (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Pacific Rim Helicopters LLC
The flight
- Departed from: Spray OR at 3:30 pm
- Destination: Fossil OR
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 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.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 WPR10FA012.